Through Our Lives
by Yui1523
Summary: Two unknown girls village is burned down and they are forced to run. They later come to Konoha and meet a group of ninja that will change them. With problems to over come but hope for the future, how will their story end.
1. Chapter 1Home Sweet Home

Through Out Life

By, Tsubaki

Home Sweet Home

Chapter 1

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

For me it was just another day in my village. My name is Tsubaki, I'm 16 years old, and I have long wavy brown hair and am built just for the fields. I live in a small farming village in the Land of Fire. My dad and I were out in the field like every other day and my mom was, once again, trapped in the village medical tent. My village is a small one that is not on any of the maps so we don't have ninja like the other villages.

We had finished for the day so I told my dad that I was going over to my cousin's house. My cousin's name is Neko; she's 17 and has neck length brunette hair that waves at the bottom. Her mom, dad and sister lost their lives not even a year ago in a fire that had started during a drought. Neko is not strong enough to work in the fields but no one cares 'cause thanks to her we have someone to watch the kids as we work.

As I walked in I called to Neko "Hey Neko its Tsubaki how was your day with the kids."

Neko walked out of her room "They were fine it was a bit of work but I'm used to it" she said. "Are you staying for dinner?" Neko asked as she looked over at me.

"Sure I guess what you are making?" I asked as I headed toward the kitchen.

"What else but you favorite, Ramen, of course" she stated as we walked into the small kitchen with enough chairs the two of us.

"YES, Neko you so rock. I swear that god himself created ramen just for us." I said very cheerfully as she went to finish cooking our dinner and I set the table.

Neko finished and got two bowls down and put the servings in and set them at the table just us." I looked at her as if she was crazy but sighed after she gave me a look that said not to fight it. "I guess your right as always." After that we ate in silent and when we finished I washed and put away the dishes. After I put the dishes away I looked outside and it was getting dark "I better get going before dad sends the search party again. See you tomorrow Neko." I gave my cousin a quick hug and headed home.

When I got home dad was pacing, again, but I didn't see mom. When dad saw me he started to yell "YOU KNOW BETTER THEN TO STAY OUT TILL DARK, TSUBAKI. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN I WAS ABOUT TO SEND THE SEARCH PARTY." I just stared at him "I told you I was going to eat dinner at Neko's house tonight. If you were so worried dad you could have come over to get me when it started to get dark out earlier." My dad sighed "yeah I know but then you would get mad at me for babying you. Since your brother died in the fire with Neko's family I've been a bit over protective. I just don't want to lose you like I did him."

Just as dad finished mom walked in still covered in blood from helping clean the children's wounds when she as at the hospital. "what's all the yelling about this time?" she asked "I came home a little late after having dinner with Neko and dad was freaking since it was dark when I got back" I said. Mom sighed and looked at dad "dear you need to have more trust in your daughter." "I do, it's the other people in the village I don't trust." I sighed and looked at my mom "I'm going to bed see you in the morning." Mom smiled at me "ok, sleep well." Then I headed for bed.

As I lay in bed I started to look back to the day of the fire one year ago. A few weeks before the fire a drought had started and it was too hot to start a flame for any reason at all. Everyone knew the rule so we don't know who set up the fire but they set my house on fire. My mom and dad were working to harvest what they could and I was with Neko out hunting. At the time I had a younger brother named Kyuu who looked very different and you couldn't tell we were related at all. He had red hair that went just passed his ears and was 7 when he died. Well now I'm off track Kyuu was home alone at the time the fire started and Neko's parents and sister ran in to save whoever they could. Although when they got in all the ways out had collapsed and they died. Neko and I had gotten back before they died and all I saw was Kyuu in his room trying to get out. If Neko hadn't held me back I would be dead myself because I would have charged in there like a bull to save Kyuu. By the time I had gotten out of her grip the house was nothing but ash and all we had was the four burnt bodies too bury.

I started to cry again as I finished thinking about that day. 'If only could have saved them' I kept thinking to myself. Soon I cried myself to sleep and when I woke it was time to go to work. I got dressed in my normal white knee length shorts and a white short sleeved shirt. When I was dressed I headed to the kitchen and started to cook eggs and toast for the three of us.

Right after I finished mom and dad walked in. "how did you sleep Tsubaki?" mom asked. "I slept well but I dreamed about the fire again." I replied. "It is getting close to that time isn't it?" my dad said. I just looked at my eggs "yeah" I gave them each a plate and we sat down to eat. When we all finished mom headed for the medical tent and my dad and I headed for the fields. Although I had a bad feeling that something was on the way and it wasn't going to turn out well.


	2. Chapter 2 Attack and Fear

Chapter 2

Attacks and Fears

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

That night my dad ran into my room yelling "GET UP QUICK! BANDITS ARE IN THE VILLAGE! YOU NEED TO GET TO NEKO'S NOW!"

I had woken up the moment he said 'bandits'. In the next second I was out of bed and heading for Neko's. I had luckily gotten to her house without being seen. I went in and started to wake her up. "Neko get up right now, there are bandits in the village and we have to get out of here." Neko soon woke up and we got changed. 'Thank god I have spear clothes here' I thought to myself.

Once we were changed we slipped out the back of her small house and into the forest which rested right behind it. We went to the one place we knew that no one but the two of us knew about; in an old oak tree there is an old fox burrow me and Neko sound it two years ago and no one else ever found it. After hiding for a little while we heard screams coming from the village. I looked at Neko and said "stay here and unless I call for you don't leave this spot."

I started towards the edge of the forest but was far enough back to not be seen. When I looked at the village, it was in flames. The next second I was on the ground shaking because of a fear of fire I had. "NEKO, NEKO… PLEASE COME HERE… NOW!" I yelled with a shaky voice.

Neko's P.O.V.

As Tsubaki and I were hiding we heard screams from the village. Tsubaki told me 'stay here' like always. I waited there not daring to leave our safe place till I heard Tsubaki calling for me. Within the next second I was heading towards her knowing what had happened and that she needed confer.

I knew that the bandits had set fire to the village because unless she knew that I wouldn't get hurt but she needed me, she wouldn't have called me away from our hiding place. Tsubaki stayed away from all kinds of fires ever since the one a year ago. Everyone in village knew that you weren't to start a fire at all unless you told Tsubaki first where and when you were going to start it.

The second I saw her on the ground I was next to her with my arms around her and started to whisper conferring words in her ear. She shaking as she hugged herself and tried to keep her breathing steady as tear fell down her face as we sat on the ground. I waited till she was a bit calmer before helping her back to our hideout. We stayed there long enough for Tsubaki to stop crying and shaking before we got up and carefully started to make our way out of the forest. We both had saddened hearts and tear stained faces as we left behind our old lives.


	3. Chapter 3The Beginning of New Beginnings

Ch. 3

The Beginning of a New Beginning

Neko's P.O.V.

I woke up the next morning in a field wondering where we were but after a minute I remembered what had happened. I looked over to where Tsubaki was sleeping and woke her up. She woke up and looked at me. "Come on we are heading for a major village in hope of being able to live there and become ninja's" I told her. She nodded her head and we headed down the road that I knew led to a village.

2 hours later

After two hours of walking we finally got to a major village. The village we arrived at was Konoha 'the village hidden in the leaves' as it is called. We saw four people at the main gate, two boys and a girl around 14 or 15 and an older man who wore a mask but seemed to be in his mid-20s. The girl had pink hair and used her ninja headband to hold her hair back out of her eyes. One of the boys was a brunette that kept glaring as if he was ready to kill the other boy who was a blonde with whisker-like markings on his cheeks; who seemed to be to hyper for his own good. All you could see of the older man was his left eye and his silver hair.

Soon after we had gotten close enough to see them the brunette spotted us and did some hand sighs before bringing one of his hands to his mouth and blowing a fire ball at us. Tsubaki froze in fear but I was able to get both of us out of the way before it hit. The second Tsubaki was on the ground she began to shake and hugged herself as she cried. The four by the gate were all surprised by the action as I knelt down next to her and tried to get her to stop crying.

After Tsubaki was calm enough for me to leave her alone, I got up and looked at the brunette with a glare that made him look scared. I stomped over to them before yelling at him "WHY DID YOU JUST ATTACK US. WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING BUT WALK TOWARD THE VILLAGE." "I thought you guys… were an enemy" the brunette replied. "Geez, really, what enemy walks right up to the village in farming clothes on and no weapons with them? Hmm" I said. He looked down embarrassed to have done what he had. "Oh, yeah, did you have to use a fire attack because now look what you did" I said before pointing towards Tsubaki.

The pink haired girl looked at Tsubaki with concern in her eyes "what wrong with her" she asked. "She has a fear of fire because of a few events in our lives that weren't the best." I said before looking at the brunette. "So thanks to you, this happened."

The older man stepped in then and asked "who are you and why are you here." I looked at him and answered "My name is Neko and that's my cousin Tsubaki. Our village was burned down last night; it was a small village that had barely thirty people living in it. It was a farming village that had nothing that was of much value and no ninjas at all." "That still doesn't tell us why you're here" the blonde said. "Where here because we want to start a new life and become ninjas seeing as we want to protect others unlike before when we couldn't." I replied.

"Well, my name is Kakashi it is nice to meet you" the silver haired man said. "I'm Naruto!" the hyper active blonde said. "Hn" was all the brunette said. "My name is Sakura and this is my Sasuke-kun" she said as she grabbed onto the brunettes arm. I giggled as h tried to struggle but couldn't get free of the girls grip. Kakashi looked at me and asked "Would you like to meet with the Hokage she is in charge of the whole village and she is the one you need permission from to live here." "Sure we can go right know" I replied. Sakura looked worriedly over at Tsubaki who was still shaking and asked "will she be okay to walk" "I have to help her but she'll be fine." I said as I helped Tsubaki up and started to help her over to the others.

We walked through the village with the four ninja in front and me helping Tsubaki slowly behind them. Naruto and Sakura would look back at Tsubaki and me with worry in their eyes. Whereas Sasuke just acted as if he didn't care and Kakashi was reading a book. I heard Sasuke finally tell Naruto and Sakura "I'm sure that if something was horribly wrong with Tsubaki Neko would have told us." All I could do was look at him in surprise when he said it. After that though he looked to Kakashi and asked "Are you sure they can be trusted" Kakashi looked back at us "I'm more then certain" was his reply.

When we arrived at the Hokage's office Tsubaki had stopped shaking but still had fear held within her eyes. "Who is this Kakashi?" the Hokage asked. "I'm Neko; I'm seventeen and this is my cousin Tsubaki; she is sixteen. We were hoping to be able to live here and become ninja of this village." I answered. The Hokage looked at us for a moment before saying "My name is Tsunade; it is nice to meet you. If you don't mind me asking; why does your cousin seem to be scared?" I looked at her for a moment; she looked to be in her fifties. After a moment I answered "she has a fear of fire and that moron…" points at Sasuke "decided that we were enemies before even asking us why we were here and attacked us with fire." The Hokage then glared at Sasuke and started to yell at him. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT WHEN YOU KNOW THE RULES ABOUT ATTACKING PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE THERE HEADING FOR THE VILLAGE? PLUS WHAT ENEMY WOULD JUST WALK UP TO THE MAIN GATE IF THEY WERE GOING TO ATTACK US." She looked at us "Also their wearing farming clothes and it'[s obvious that they have no weapons at all." Sasuke looked down in embarrassment.

After a few minutes Tsunade had calmed down and she asked "Why do you want to be ninja?" "So we can help people unlike in the past when we couldn't" I replied right away. She sat there and smiled at us before asking to hear our story. I told her what happened with the bandits and fire. After I finished she looked at Tsubaki who had not said anything. "Can you all step out for a moment except for you, Tsubaki; I wish to speak with you." Tsunade said. Soon after she said that we left the room.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

I was standing there watching Neko as she left the room with worry in my eyes. When everyone had left the room Tsunade looked at me and asked "Can you tell me your name?" I nodded my head and opened my mouth but nothing came out. "Can you tell me your age?" she asked this time. I nodded once again and tried again but it was the same result. She sighed as I looked down before calling the others back into the room. Once everyone was inside she looked at them and said "it's just as I thought, she can't talk what happened with the fire has scared her to the point where she just can't." Neko looked at me with worry-filled eyes as I started to cry thinking I wouldn't be able to become a ninja. "Will she still be able to become a ninja, granny?" Naruto asked; his voice full of worry. Tsunade smiled "Yes, she will still be able to become a ninja" she replied.

At that moment I looked up at her and the tears stopped. Neko looked at me and smiled but all of a sudden Naruto had jumped on my back and made me fall 'cause of how surprised I was. "I will tell Iruka that you will be joining his class at the academy. I will also warn him about you sister and fire. As well as how she does not speak." "Thank you." Neko replied as I stood up and bowed in thanks. "I will let you live in a small house next to Naruto's apartment. It will not cost much so you will be able to easily afford it once you are ninja beforehand I will pay the bill for you." Tsunade told us. Neko and I smiled at her. "You guys want to get ramen with me" Naruto said. The moment we heard the word ramen we were at his side pulling him out of the room. "Lead the way boy we love ramen and haven't eaten since yesterday" Neko said.

The others had stayed behind to talk with Tsunade and help find her find a way to keep people from using fire as much as possible. Naruto lead the way to a ramen shop called Ichiraku's. We had dinner and before we left Sakura had come to walk home with us. When we got to our new house it was about the exact same as my old one. Naruto and Sakura left shortly after we knew where everything was.

Soon after the two left Neko and I got ready for bed. Neko looked at me "Let's have a good new life with our new friends and the ones we make after this." She told me. I nodded back to her with a small smile on my face. With that we went to bed excited about what will come during the days of our new life.


	4. Chapter 4First Day and 'New' Discovery

Ch. 4

First Day and 'New Discoveries'

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

The next morning I woke up to Neko yelling "GET UP WE HAVE TO GET READY TO GO! OUR CLASS STARTS IN TEN MINUTES!" the moment she said that I was out of bed, dressed and heading down stairs to eat breakfast. I finished eating and Neko asked "Ready to go?" All I did was nod my head and we ran to Naruto's. When we got there Neko asked Naruto if he could show us the way. He said yes because he was meeting his team close by there anyways so they could get their mission.

When we got there Naruto saw his comrades and left. We got to the class room before class started and I was literally shaking in my boots. Although when I saw our teacher smiling kindly at us I calmed down a bit. Our teacher had brown hair and a scar that crossed over the bridge of his nose. He looked to be in his early twenties. He came over to us and said "You must be Neko and Tsubaki. My name is Iruka; I hope you enjoy your time here." I smiled at him as Neko replied "Of course, we will have much fun during our time here."

A minute later the bell rang and Iruka called "Settle down class." The other students settled down and he spoke again "Today we have some new students. This is Neko and Tsubaki; they come from a village that has recently been destroyed. Please, welcome the kindly and help them to settle down in this new school." After he said this I bowed politely and Neko said "Hi, I'm Neko and this is my cousin Tsubaki. Just so you know she doesn't speak because of some terrifying events that have happened. Also she fears fire and if you scare her with the use of it I will hunt you down and break your arm." This scared all of them instantly and Iruka then told us were to sit.

After a few hours of learning about chakra, Neko left to get our lunch from Ichiraku's. As I waited for her to return the rest of the students came over to me and started to ask questions. "Why can't you talk?" "Where did your cousin go?" "Why are you afraid of fire?" and even more. But the next thing they knew the wind was rushing and papers were flying along with other things that could be caught in the wind. Soon the wind stopped.

Neko's P.O.V.

I got back from picking up our lunch to find the room a mess. Things were everywhere and I don't mean just papers there were chairs on top of desks. I set our food down next to the door and went inside to find out what happened. All I found was the other students in a group looking down at something. I pushed my way through the small crowd and found Tsubaki in the center with her body surrounded by water as she was shaking.

When I turned around to yell at the others and ask what happened Iruka beat me to it. "WHAT HAPPENED HERE? WHO GOT HER THIS UPSET AND HOW DID THEY DO IT?" All the others did was look at him before one spoke up. "It was all of our faults. We tried to ask her questions about a lot of things and it freaked her out. We're all very sorry, Iruka-sensei." "Well, I'm not the one you should say sorry to." Was Iruka's reply. All of the students looked at Tsubaki and I before bowing and saying "sorry" in unison.

After Tsubaki's little episode we ate lunch and class started again. "We will be going outside for the rest of the day to work on kunai throwing. Iruka let all of the others go first after setting up a target, before showing Tsubaki and I how to throw them. When Tsubaki went she got right in the center of the target even though we were on the opposite side of the practice field behind the academy. When it came my turn I told Iruka I didn't need to be retaught seeing how I had seen how Tsubaki had done it. So I throw mine and it landed right next to Tsubaki's. All the others could do was stare in shock at what had happened.

After class ended Tsubaki and I were about to leave when Iruka asked us to go with him to see Tsunade. On the way there he said "I don't think that ether of you should be in my class. So were going to ask Tsunade about having someone just teach you the basics." A little while later we were at the Hokage Tower.

When we got there Iruka told us to wait in the hall. So we waited there until they called us in. After a few minutes Iruka came out to get us. When we got into the room Tsunade looked at us in a strange way before locking down the door and all of the windows.

"WHAT VILLAGE ARE YOU REALLY FROM?" Tsunade yelled scaring Tsubaki. "WE ARE FROM THE FARMING VILLAGE THAT WE TOLD YOU ABOUT!" I yelled back. "With the skills you showed in your class today; what else am I supposed to think?" Tsunade asked. "I don't know how we did any of that; but I swear that we have never trained for anything except for farming and watching children" I stated. Soon after the arguing began Tsubaki sank to the floor crying because of how it seemed that Tsunade didn't trust them.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

When I sank to the floor crying nether Neko or Tsunade noticed until Iruka came over to confer me. The second they saw that I was crying they stopped arguing and watched Iruka and I for a moment. Right after that Tsunade noticed that she had jumped to conclusions when she shouldn't have.

"I'm sorry about suggesting that you wouldn't be from your home and what has happened to the people who were your family. Although Tsubaki can I see how well you can control your powers and what they are." I looked at her for a moment before standing up and wiping away my tears. I motioned my hands and all of the tears that had fallen onto the floor came up and grouped together before changing into a mini version of Neko. Then it evaporated and the wind picked up before it went over and picked up some of Tsunade's papers then set them gently into her hands.

When I looked at the others they were all in shock; all I did was smile at them. I then used wind to get a blank piece of paper and a pencil before writing something down. I handed to paper to Neko and she read it aloud "'I learned that I could control the elements when I was younger but I can only fully control these two.' Is what she said" Tsunade and Iruka then asked at the same time "How old were you when you learned about your powers?" I took the paper back and wrote 'I was two but I never let anyone find out till now' before handing it back. They read it and then all of them stared at me; once again I just smiled.

Shortly after that Tsunade let us go home for the night but we had to go back to her office the next morning. We were also told that we were not going to be in Iruka's class anymore but to be working with her.

We said good night and headed for home. When we got there Neko made dinner and we ate in silence. When we finished I went to shower before Neko; she was cleaning off the table. Half an hour later we were in bed and I was thinking about the days to come.


	5. Chapter 5A Day of Fighting

Ch. 5

A Day of Fighting

Neko's P.O.V

I year later

I woke up and got dress. Then I went to make breakfast before I had to wake Tsubaki. I can't believe it's been a year since we started our training with Tsunade. In only a few months we both had full control over our chakra and after that we learned many jutsu. Tsunade had told us earlier this week that we didn't need to pass the chunin exam before we could take the jounin exam. We couldn't wait for the exam because she also talked about meeting friends of hers that would help us with everything once we passed.

When I finished making our scrambled eggs and toast, I got down plates and the apple butter and set the table. Once it was set I headed up to wake Tsubaki but when I got there she was already up. "Morning Tsubaki, I made scrambled eggs with toast and apple butter for…" but before I could finish telling her she was downstairs dressed. I sighed if there was one thing about Tsubaki that you could find out without her telling you it's the she loves apple butter.

When we finished eating we left to meet with Tsunade. On our way there we saw all of our friends; Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Neji, Tenten, and Lee. We also saw Sakura and Sasuke but we hate them with a reason. Sakura was a slut and Sasuke was trying to kill Tsubaki because he wanted to 'prove' himself; although he can't because she's so much stronger. As we walked over to them Tsubaki smiled and waved to get their attention. When we got to them I said "Good morning, everyone" and they all said "Good morning Neko, Tsubaki."

As we started to walk toward the Hokage Tower the others told us that Tsunade wished to see every one today but no one had a clue to why she told them to come. When they asked us if we knew we just shook our heads. When we got there all of our sensei were talking so we just waited by the door in silence. Soon after we arrived Tsunade waved for us to come in.

"I decided that since Neko and Tsubaki have yet to train with anyone other than themselves that it would be good for them to train with everyone today. It will also help them be ready for the jounin exam that is starting this week" Tsunade said. Everyone but Sakura and Sasuke smiled about this. Sasuke looked from Tsunade to the other sensei and asked "Are we going to have practice fights?" "Yes, that's the reason for us getting you all together today." Kakashi replied. Sasuke smirked but Tsunade put in "Although you can't kill Tsubaki when you face her" and the smirk became a glare. He directed his glare at Tsubaki making her hid behind Neji in fear.

During the past year Neji and Tsubaki had become very close friends; they were practically brother and sister. If Neji was not into Tenten we would have gotten the two of them together. When Neji realized why Tsubaki was so scared he glared and growled protectively at Sasuke but he didn't back down. Soon we were all heading toward the training grounds excitedly.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

When we got to the training grounds we all stretched before having a race to warm up; Neko and I tied for first along with Lee which surprised everyone especially Lee. After we finished we decided to have a one-on-one practice battle competition. In the end it came down to me and Sasuke. In the first round Ino and Sakura had tied, Shikamaru gave up during his against Naruto, Choji lost to Neji, Tenten lost to Lee because of lack of speed, Shino forfeited to Sasuke and Kiba lost to Neko and I beat Hinata. In the second round Naruto and Neji tied, Lee lost to Sasuke and I beat Neko.

I waited for Kakashi to let us start as Sasuke glared at me. After a few minutes Kakashi let us start and the second he did Sasuke was next to me. Right as he punched me I jumped up and into the trees surrounding the field. Once I was in the trees I ran through them but kept the leaves and branches from moving with my elemental powers. When I stopped I hid my chakra before Sasuke could use it to find me.

During this last year Neko and I have spent training with Tsunade has been really beneficial; for both our chakra control and sparing abilities. It was also a good thing that she happened to be as strong as she is seeing how much strength Neko had gained during our time with her. We both learned a lot from her when it came to different taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu. I was also able to summon a wolf and Neko was able to summon cats when Tsunade taught us the summoning technic.

During the time I was spaced out Sasuke had come into the trees and started to search for me. When I heard the rustling get closer to my hiding spot I jumped back to the middle of the field. I waited a few minutes for him to attack. When he did he attacked with chidori I literally sank into the ground and when he landed the earth fell and became a cylinder. After I was sure he was trapped I filled his trap with water before lifting in out of the ground. When it was above ground I heated the water till you could hear him yelling for help because it was so hot. Soon the yelling stopped and I release the trap and Sasuke fell to the ground out cold with all but the skin on his face blood red.

Kakashi came over and check on Sasuke before declaring that I had won. Everyone came over to congratulate except for Sakura who glared at me; I just laughed in my head about it. After a minute Kakashi cleared his throat before saying "I'm going to take Sasuke to see Tsunade" after that he left with Sasuke on his back. Sakura decided to follow along to make sure 'her Sasuke-kun' was okay.

"Tsubaki, you are so full of YOUTH" Lee shouted. "He's right, that was amazing, Tsubaki. Hey, Naruto, I think we should get Gaara over here sometime. That would be a cool fight." Tenten said. "That would be cool!" Naruto yelled excitedly. "I, myself, would like to see how Temari would fair against our dear Tsubaki" Neji said. "What about Kankuro? His puppets against her elements would be pretty sweet" Kiba said with Akamaru barking in agreement. Neko and I just looked at them questionably as they talked.

"What are they talking about?" Neko asked Shikamaru. "Man this is such a drag. There talking about a few friends of ours that are really strong but from a different village. Gaara, Temari and Kankuro of the sand are there full names. Gaara controls sand and hardly ever gets hurt because the sand itself protects him he's the youngest of the three. Temari, who is the middle child, uses a large fan to create very strong winds and is so fast that no one notices that's how she does it till it's too late. Finally Kankuro, the oldest, is a puppet master. They all live in the village hidden in the sand. Gaara is also the new…" "KAZEKAGE" Naruto yelled before Shikamaru could finish explaining.

When Naruto said that word I realized that I had heard of him before. Tsunade would sometimes cancel our training sessions because of meetings with him. Neko and I had yet to meet him even though had always begged Tsunade to let us; she never did. Although she did tell us that he was around our age and was anti-social.

I was brought out of my daze by Naruto yelling "GAARA!" He sprinted passed me as the other just watched with smiles on their faces. "He's very nice now days if you would like to meet him. He was scary at first but after a while you get used to him" Hinata said quietly. I turned around to see something I had hoped to never see again.


	6. Chapter 6Meeting

Ch. 6

Meetings

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

I turned around and saw something I had hoped to never see again. Naruto was talking with two boys and a girl around our age that I had never seen before. One of the boys had the same red hair and pale green eyes that Kyuu use to have; although he had a tattoo on his forehead that said love in Japanese. He wore black shorts and a black shirt with a tannish sash and a gourd was strapped to his back. The second I saw him I went into shock and fell to my knees with tears in my eyes; soon after I fainted.

Neko's P.O.V.

When I saw the boy Naruto was talking to I froze and the second everyone surrounded Tsubaki I rushed over knowing what had happened. When I was able to get to her I grabbed onto her as everyone asked 'what's wrong?' I just stared at Gaara and stammered "H-he… It can't-… Th-There's no… (More muttering that can't be understood)… K-Kyuu…?" Naruto looked at me then at Gaara "What are you talking about, Neko? His names not 'Kyuu' it's Gaara."

I soon snapped out of my daze a little and looked at everyone as they gave me questioning looks. "Sorry, Kyuu was Tsubaki's younger brother. He had the same hair and eye color that Gaara has" I told them. Shino looked at me and asked "What do you mean 'was'?" I looked down with sorrow in my eyes "He died in a fire one year before we moved here after our village had been burned down" they all looked at Tsubaki. "Is that why she so afraid of fire?" Neji asked. All I did was nod. "Is it the reason she doesn't talk even with all of her youth?" Lee asked. I shook my head "She doesn't talk because of the fire that destroyed our village. The one her brother was caught in only created her fear of it."

Soon Gaara, Temari and Kankuro walked over to see what happened. When they saw Tsubaki Temari asked "Who are these people and what happened, Naruto?" Naruto looked over at them "This is Neko and Tsubaki; they moved here last year and have been training with Tsunade. Tsubaki doesn't speak, has a fear of fire and can control all the elements; she also is so much stronger than Sasuke that she beat him without breaking a sweat. Where Neko is stronger than most of us but has yet to reveal her specialty like Tsubaki has." When Naruto was done everyone sat down as we waited for Tsubaki to wake up.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

30 minutes later

When I woke up Neko was clutching onto my arm and the others were ether talking, sleeping or watching me with worry on their faces. "SHE'S AWAKE" Naruto yelled when he saw my eyes watching them all. Everyone looked over or woke up with a start when they heard him. When they saw he was telling the truth they rushed over and hugged me as I watched them stunned. I looked around as they let go of me before my eyes landed on Gaara again. When I saw Gaara I took a deep breath in order to keep from fainting again.

He came over and asked "Are you okay?" I nodded before setting my hand on Neko's to let her know she could let go. When she let go I stood up and Neji came over to check on me again. "Please, try not to scare me like that ever again, Tsubaki." I smiled at him and nodded. Gaara just watched us before I walked over to him and held out my hand. He just looked at me as if he didn't know what to do but soon he took my hand and I smiled at him.

Neko came over shortly after and said "My name is Neko and this is my cousin Tsubaki. I'm sorry about what happened earlier; it's just that you look a great deal like Tsubaki's brother Kyuu did. You heard the story earlier so I know you know what happened." As she was talking I watched Gaara with a small smile on my face thinking about how good he looked. When he looked over at me and our eyes met I looked away blushing like a mad girl.

Neji saw my blush and came over to check to make sure I wasn't getting 'sick' even though he knew why I was blushing. "He doesn't know much about love so it might be hard to get that feeling from him" Neji whispered in my ear before going over to talk to the others. All of a sudden an anbu showed up and said "Tsunade wishes to speak with Neko and Tsubaki but said that you could all come if you wish." So with that we all left for the Hokage Tower.


	7. Chapter 7A Life Saved and Bad Dreams

Ch. 7

A Life Saved and Bad Dreams

Neko's P.O.V

When we got to the Tsunade's office we went inside to find Kakashi talking with Tsunade and Sasuke lying on the couch; in the same condition that he had been in when Kakashi left with him. When Gaara, Temari and Kankuro saw him they asked who had done it. "Tsubaki did" Hinata answered. When they heard that they looked at Tsubaki in surprise and all she did was smile at them.

"DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM!" Tsunade yelled. "TSUBAKI KNEW WHEN TO STOP! SHE WOULD NEVER KILL ANYONE UNLESS SHE HAD TO! ALSO HE IS ALIVE, ISN'T HE?" I yelled back. As we fought Tsubaki walked over and kneeled next to Sasuke and grabbed onto his arm. After a few minutes his skin returned to its natural color.

Tsunade looked at Tsubaki in surprise; wondering how she had done what she had. "How did you do that?" she asked. Tsubaki got a piece of paper and a pencil before writing something down and handing the paper to me. "'I used his blood to cool the temperature of his body; seeing as blood is made mostly of water.'" I read aloud. "Wow, how did you do that?" Naruto asked. "She controls water moron she could easily change the temperature of a humans blood." Neji replied.

Suddenly Sasuke woke up and looked around before looking at himself. "What happened?" he asked. "Tsubaki use hot water to knock you unconscious during your fight. Then she used her power over water to cool your body temperature down a minute ago." Shikamaru said. When Sasuke heard this he sat up and looked at Tsubaki who gave him a sad smile. "Thank you" was all he said. When he said that everyone was so shocked you could see the shock on Shino's face.

Tsunade went over to make sure that Sasuke was okay and when she finished looked at us and said "he's completely fine now" I heard Tsubaki sigh in relief and I knew that she was scared that she had done some permanent damage to his body. It was obvious that she had been worried over him the whole time and I'm glad she's not anymore.

After Tsunade said Sasuke could leave we all decided to go get lunch at Ichiraku's. Although on the way there Sakura caught us and stole Sasuke who started to beg for help as he was carried off. We just shrugged our shoulders and went on our way. When we got there we ordered our lunches like normal. Naruto was having 6 servings and Choji was having 8 but what surprised me was that Tsubaki had ordered 12. When we finished eating we decided to go back to the training grounds for some rest and exercise. The whole way there Tsubaki would glance at Gaara who would look back at her which made her blush for their eyes would meet.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

When we got to the training grounds everyone else raced around the grounds except for me. I went and sat under a big shady tree and soon the others came over and sat down with me. I wasn't feeling the best but I didn't want the others to worry so I didn't say anything about it. After a little while Temari said "Why don't we play truth or dare?" we all nodded and the game began.

Temari started "Tsubaki thumbs up for truth or thumbs down for dare." I put my thumb down which surprised Temari. "Hmm… I dare you to… kiss Neji on the cheek." I got up and walked over to Neji who had also stood up knowing what I was going to do. I hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek which he returned as if I were his sister who he hadn't seen in a long time. This surprised Temari and Kankuro; I'm not sure about Gaara he hid his emotions to well.

Naruto looked at Temari "You'll have to do better than that to get her. That was normal for them since they think of each other as brother and sister." When I sat back down I pointed at Shikamaru and did the truth or dare signs I was using for the game. "Man, what a drag… truth" was his reply. When he said truth I smirked and you could see the chill go down his spin. I then wrote 'Do you like Temari' in the dirt. At that he blushed and said "yes" just loud enough for us to hear him. This statement made Temari blush and everyone else laughed.

"Gaara truth or dare?" Shikamaru asked quickly. "Dare" was his reply. "I dare you to kiss Tsubaki on the lips" Shikamaru said. I blushed as Gaara came over looking unsure of what to do. After he sat down next to me we just looked at each other. After a minute Naruto pushed Gaara into me and our lips collided. After Gaara got up he looked over at Naruto ready to kill him but I grabbed his hand and gave him a look which begged him not to hurt him. He sighed and sat back down next to me instead of going back to his old spot next to Temari.

"Neko, truth or dare?" Gaara asked. "Truth" she said. "Why did you and Tsubaki move to Konoha?" he asked. Neko sighed and started to tell our story. I fell asleep half way through the story. As I slept I dreamed that all my friends and I were in a room talking but all of a sudden the room caught fire and I was the only one to survive. I was all alone and I fell to my knees crying.

I woke up to Neji shaking me and calling "Tsubaki, Tsubaki wake up. Come on Tsubaki, wake up." When I saw him I hugged him as close to me as I could because of the fear of losing him. I cried on his shoulder silently and he held me there saying calming words to me as he rubbed my back. Soon the others came over and we had a group hug. Shikamaru was the first to let go "This happens a lot. Tsubaki had another nightmare where we all die in a fire leaving her alone. None of us want her to be alone because we all love her as if she were our sister and it would be very hard for us to leave her" he explained to the three sand shinobi. They all looked at us and noticed that my tears had stopped falling and then Temari and Kankuro gave small smiles.

Soon after I had calmed down we all decided that it was time to head home for the night. We all went our separate ways although Neji had decided that it was for the best if he walked Neko and I home. On the way I started to get dizzy but I ignored it. After a few minutes I fell to the ground breathing heavily. The last thing I saw before falling unconscious was Neji and Neko with worried faces.


	8. Chapter 8Tsubaki's Ill and Disappeared?

Ch. 8

Tsubaki's Ill and Sakura's a Bitch

Neko's P.O.V.

Three days later

It's been three days since Tsubaki fell ill; I had been so scared when she fell unconscious on the way home that night. Neji and I get her to Tsunade as quickly as we could and then when she saw Tsubaki; she freaked out over it. Even after she had calmed down and tried to find out what was she couldn't. Then we all got especially scared about what was happening.

When we told the others yesterday they freaked and yelled at us for not saying anything sooner; it wasn't our fault Tsunade said that we weren't to tell anyone till yesterday. Both Gaara and Neji told everyone that they were sorry for not telling them that she had been warm when we were playing 'truth or dare'. All the rest of us did was shake our heads and say that they did the right thing; since Tsubaki would have gotten mad if they told and she didn't want anyone to know. Everyone wanted to see Tsubaki but we weren't allowed till today.

Tsubaki has yet to regain consciousness and none of us can figure out what happened. I hope she will be okay she is all the family I have and all our friends need her too. I saw Gaara in front of the hospital when I got there. "You hear to see Tsubaki too, Gaara?" I asked as I got closer. His head looked at me as if he was surprised before nodding. "Well then lets head on up" I said. When we arrived at Tsubaki's room though she was gone.

I told Gaara to wait there as I went to get Tsunade. When I got to Tsunade's office she was just getting out her booze. "TSUBAKI'S MISSING!" I yelled. She dropped the bottle and yelled back "WHAT DO YOU MEAN MISSING?" "JUST THAT, GAARA AND I WENT TO SEE HER AND WHEN WE GOT TO HER ROOM SHE WAS GONE!" I yelled. When she heard that she called in an anbu and told them to get all of our friends and tell them to get to the hospital. After that we left for it ourselves.

When we got there our friends were all there; even Sasuke which surprised me. "Where is Tsubaki?" Neji asked. "We don't know Neji, she's missing" Tsunade replied. "THEN WE HAVE TO FIND HER" he yelled in reply. Everyone agreed and we started to think. "Wouldn't it have been Sakura who did this? She was always jealous of Tsubaki for her strength and having all of Sasuke's attention" Naruto said. I looked at him and though about how true that statement was; who would have thought that Naruto thought of it. Soon Sasuke looked as if he remembered something. "Naruto's right it was Sakura; she came to me earlier and told me 'One of your problems is solved'. Till now I had no clue what she had been talking about; she took Tsubaki and is most likely the reason she's sick" he said.

I looked at him before looking at everyone "Let's get started on a plan" I said. After half an hour we had our plan and put it into action. Gaara and I went to the roof of Sakura's house as Sasuke went to her front door with flowers. Naruto, Ino, Choji, Kiba and Akamaru were waiting to follow them to the forest where they were to trap Sakura before taking her to Neji, Kankuro and Temari who were preparing to torture her till the truth was revealed. Tsunade took the others to get a jail cell ready for her; Shikamaru decides it was too much work and went to take a nap at the hospital.

I watched as Sasuke knocked on Sakura's door with a fake smile. Soon they were leaving with Sakura hanging on Sasuke's arm and him trying not to kill her. As soon as they were out of site Naruto's group left and Gaara and I slipped into her room. We looked through the whole entire room before finding her when Gaara opened her closet and she fell on him; he caught her but stumbled from surprise.

We left for the hospital right after and found everyone there with Sakura tied up and pretty well beaten. When we got there we lead Tsubaki on her bed and Tsunade came over with a small vile. Inside it was a blue liquid and she poured it down Tsubaki's throat. When we heard what Sakura had done and why she had done it we were ready to kill her. She poisoned Tsubaki and then took her so that we wouldn't find how to help her. She did it because she wanted 'her Sasuke-kun' to herself.

I was about to kill her but she was surrounded by sand before I could do anything. We all looked at Gaara who looked blood thirsty; the others were freaking out knowing that look and were all glad wasn't pointed at them. "You fucking bitch I'll kill you easy" he growled. Sakura had been in this position and was shaking worse knowing that no one would help her out of this. But before Gaara could kill her a hand grabbed his and we all looked at Tsubaki; who had woken up. 'Don't become a killer just because of one bitch Gaara especially if it's because of me' was written in his sand. He soon released Sakura and just sat beside Tsubaki watching her as she watched him.

"Neji take her to cell 88 and tell the guards not to feed her till Thursday night" Tsunade said as she watched Gaara and Tsubaki. It was obvious how much they liked each other but Gaara had yet to notice that he liked her the way he did. I myself was just happy that she was going to be alright. We all sat and talked with her for a while and soon it was time for us to leave. Gaara walked over to Naruto and asked if they could talk before they left so they went off on their own after saying good night to everyone.

Gaara's P.O.V.

When everyone was gone I asked Naruto "What's wrong with me?" he just looked at me. "What do you mean Gaara?" he asked. "Well, I keep getting these weird feelings and I don't know why. The weirdest part is that I only get them when it involves Tsubaki. What's wrong with me, Naruto?" I asked. He looked at me for a moment before he started to laugh; I stared at him wondering why he was laughing. "Nothing's wrong with you Gaara; you just have a feeling that you never had before now and don't understand it yet" he said. I looked at him as if he was insane but I knew he was right. "What feeling is it Naruto?" I asked. He calmed down and looked at me before saying "Love" as he pointed at my scar.

He walked off heading home and I just stared at him. Is he telling the truth but how do I know if I never felt this way before now? Soon I left thinking to myself about what Naruto had said and tried to figure out if he was right. I don't sleep so I just thought all night long till the sun came up and we left to head home to get some things we needed.


	9. Chapter 9The Exam Begins

Ch. 9

The Exam Begins

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

1 week later; exam day

It was still dark when I woke up but I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about how glad I was that Sakura was locked away. It's been a week since she poisoned me but I got better really quick after taking the antidote. I looked at the clock and it said 4:30 I decided that I would sit at the window and think about the day I was almost killed.

Almost all of my friends had been mad that I hadn't let Gaara kill Sakura. The only ones that weren't angry were Tsunade, Temari and Naruto since none of them wanted an insane, bloodthirsty Gaara to worry about, again. My written reply was that there had been no reason to kill her and the others of course disagreed with me in all and anyway possible. There better about it now but I overheard Neji and Sasuke thinking of plans to kill her with Tsunade's permission.

Around 6 I went downstairs and started to make breakfast. As I was making breakfast I started to think of Gaara. He had to go home to the sand village and I missed him so much it was scary. When the others told me he had left when I was sick I broke a fifty-foot tree down and started to beat them with it. After I realized what I did I freak out and begged for forgiveness which was given without hesitation

Right after I had finished making breakfast Neko came down and sat at the table. I set the egg sandwiches and sat down across from her. "What are you doing up so early in the morning?" she asked. 'I couldn't sleep I'm too excited about today' I wrote on the table. "About the exam or seeing Gaara again?" she asked. I blushed and wrote "both" on the table before finishing breakfast and heading up stairs to get dress to go.

After I was ready to go we left the house and headed for a forest on the outskirts of the village. When we got there everyone except the sand siblings were there to wish us luck and tell us to kick ass. Soon after we got there Anko a jounin who was like our aunt came over to us and said she was in charge of this exam round. I was scared shitless now; Anko was one of the scariest people I knew.

A little while before the exam began Gaara and his siblings arrived and came over to Neko and me to wish us luck. Temari and Kankuro walked over to Naruto and the others but when Gaara had turned to go over but before he could I grabbed hold of his arm; making him turn to look at me again. I opened his gourd and took some of the sand and formed it to look just like him with every detail; even his scar-tattoo on his forehead. I them heated it and it slowly turned into glass in my hand. When I finished I took his hand and gently placed it inside of it. He looked at me in surprise for a moment before asking "Is this for me?" I nodded yes to him with a smile in which he returned with a small one of his own. In the back ground you could hear gasps and murmuring about the Kazekage actually smiling.

Neji's P.O.V.

I watch as Tsubaki handed Gaara the figure she just made of him and smiled when he smiled at her. Soon after he walked over to say hello to everyone and I took him over to talk to him. "She practiced that since she was able to leave the hospital. You even think of breaking it and I will kill you the way she almost kill the rest of us; with a 100 foot tree that has a seven foot diameter. She likes you more then you realize so don't even try to upset or use her; otherwise you go against me." He looked at me then at Tsubaki and then back at me before saying "I wouldn't be able to do that even if I wanted to; which I don't. This is the first gift I have ever been given and I wouldn't want to do anything to it. Also I could never in a million years hurt her in any way so don't cut that tree down."

After he said that he turned away and headed back over to the others who asked to see the figure the Tsubaki had given him. I looked over at Tsubaki who was watching everyone with a smile on her face and I noticed that Gaara had looked over at her with a smile on his face too. 'Maybe he will be her salvation and she will be his' I thought.

Neko's P.O.V.

I looked around at our opponents who were staring at Tsubaki and me but looked as if they were looking for someone else. I think that their just looking for someone that would be the third member of our group. Tsubaki tugged on my shirt to get my attention and I looked at her; she looked so nerves that I thought she was going to soil her clothes. "Don't worry we are stronger than most of the other participants. We will move up in rank; from nobody to somebody, right?" I said.

Sure we only had two people but we could still kick the others asses. As I looked around I saw Saku who was a strange bot who had arrived about a month after Tsubaki and I had. I found him as a threat because he was decently strong but no one knew anything about him. He was a trained ninja when he arrived but not even Tsunade knows where he was trained. I have to keep a close eye on him during this exam.

Soon we were heading into the forest; all we have to do is survive for one week. This will be easy but I think it's also to learn more about your opponent in order to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Good thing Tsubaki and I know how to do summoning's.

We found a nice sized tree with the bottom of it opened; we walked inside and hid the hole with vines. "Let's summon our animals before we do anymore so we can get a head start" I said. Tsubaki nodded before creating a summoning circle and summoned about ten wolves and I did the same but instead of wolves I summoned leopards. "Go and look for any enemies you can and keep watch over them; when the sun starts to set return here, alright?" I asked. All of the animals nodded and left through the vines.

About an hour later Tsubaki looked at me and wrote in the sand 'can we go to find something to eat, please.' I heard a growl from her before hearing one from myself and said "Yes, let's go." We went carefully in order to not be caught by surprise and found three good sized birds. I won't eat much meat so we normally only eat birds. We killed them before they noticed we were there and took them back. When we got back to our tree we sat down inside and Tsubaki held the birds and started to cook them from the inside out; she needed no flame just like Gaara's statue.

We soon ate and the animals returned for the night. After listening to their reports on the different opponents we sat and played a game of blind leaf matching. It wasn't long though till Tsubaki fell asleep with her wolves curled up around her. My leopards curled up around me and I slowly fell into the land of dreams.


	10. Chapter 10Life in the Wild

Ch. 10

Life in the Wild

Gaara's P.O.V.

Three days later

I'm worried about Tsubaki and asked Naruto about that was again. He just told me 'It's because of your feelings' and 'don't worry because you'll learn along the way.' I really don't understand him but I guess I'll have to trust him. I worry most about because of her fear and I hope no one figures out what it is. Please Tsubaki be okay and come back to all of us.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

Even after three days we are in our tree and I yet to be found by any enemy. We haven't gone out too much and we have at least one of our summonses guarding the tree so that if something is approaching we can be warned ahead of time. Neko is watching the entrance for them so that she can get info on enemies fast and tell them what to do with them. I find it strange how she keeps getting so much info on Saku.

My thoughts were cut short when someone grabbed me from behind and I heard Neko scream. The vines had been dissolved by acid and when I kicked my left heel into his shin but instead of him being hurt my heel broke. He's wearing metal so I heated it and when he released me I need him in the balls and hit him in the head with my elbow; this knocked him unconscious. When I stepped onto my left foot the pain was intense but I went over and wrapped the two guys who were attacking Neko in stone. Neko was trying to put out a small fire and when I saw it I put it out with my water.

Neko stood up and took her kunai and slit the men's throats before heading over to the one I had knocked unconscious and slit his throat as well. After that I used that stone to take all three of them to the edge of the forest without leaving. When they were gone Neko came over and cleaned and bandaged my heel.

I had freaked out a bit about the fire but it wasn't anything very bad. Before we were ready to eat I collapsed but didn't lose consciousness. "Tsubaki are you alright?" I heard Neko ask. I tried to nod but couldn't lie to her like that so I shook my head before passing out right there.

Neko's P.O.V.

After Tsubaki lost consciousness I checked her temperature and it was much high then it should have been. Although she suddenly has fallen ill I'm am very proud of her for starting to get over her fear. Although that's not the problem she is really pale and she isn't breathing right so I need to go to find an herb that can at least bring down her fever.

I left the tree with six wolves and four leopards to guard as I search. When I got to a small river about a mile away from the tree I found a beautiful and healthy willow tree. I had been studying herbs for a few months now and I am glad I was. I also found a stash of ginger and feverfew. This was great now to head back.

I feel like I'm being followed so I search the area by using a technic Neji had taught me. When I found what was following me I threw a kunai up into the tree that was right above me and it hit a man in the throat; this allowing me an instant kill. After that I continued my walk back to the tree with the small bundles in my arms

When I got back I found Tsubaki up and trying to walk over to the food with great difficulty. I went over grabbed her arm sat her against the tree trunk and started a small fire that was out of her sight. I soon finished making her some food and began to make tea with the herbs I had collected. When that was done Tsubaki and I sat down and ate.

After we finished eating I told Tsubaki "Lay down; you need your rest." She quickly and quietly complied and soon drifted off to sleep. After a few minutes the wolves and leopards came in for the night and I got there daily reports. When I finished listening to them all I laid down near Tsubaki and fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11Neko's Turn

Ch. 11

Neko's Turn

Neko's P.O.V.

Last day of the exam

I am so glad that this is the last day of the first exam. It wasn't hard or anything and we learned a lot about our enemies but Tsubaki hasn't gotten any better. I'm just getting back from collecting more herbs for her.

I walked into the tree to find that Tsubaki was still asleep and her breathing was uneven. I went over and after making sure that Tsubaki wasn't going to wake up I started a small fire to cook some meat and make tea for the two of us. After I put out the fire I was going over to wake Tsubaki but heard a warning howl from one of the wolves.

One of the enemies was approaching so I hurried outside and got into a fighting position. After I got out there three sound-ninja appeared ready to attack.

"What do you want?" I asked them. "We came for you partner" the first one said. "Our master heard that she controls all elements and wants her power" Another said. They took a position where they had one in front and the others on each side and my back to the tree. "You might want her but like fucking hell you're getting her, bastards" I said.

Suddenly sound was building up around them and the two ninja to my sides aimed an attack at me as the one in front punched the ground sending waves through it. I jumped up and dodged the attacks and landed with a kunai in each hand.

I threw one of them into the ninja to rights leg and then ran forward and shoved the other one into the ninja in front of me shoulder. When I stopped I heard the sound of a fire starting and turned around; the third ninja had taken the chance to set fire to our tree.

When I saw this I used the one elemental power I had gained and trained over the last three months. I had my 'binding vines' wrap around the man who had set the tree ablaze. After I had him securely wrapped I used 'protective vines' by sending in a set of vines to create a dome around Tsubaki in order to keep her from being hurt by the fire.

My vines cannot burn but can freeze; good thing Tsubaki, Tsunade and I are the only ones who know that. After being sure that Tsubaki was safe before attacking the two ninja who had not been wrapped in my vines. On the first I used 'piercing vines' this sent a sharp thorn covered wing into the man's heart; splattering my face with his blood.

On the second I used 'blade leaves' which changed the leaves in the forest into sharp razor like weapons as they flew at him. When they touched his body it tore through his bone; cutting him into six individual pieces.

On the one that I had wrapped in vines I used 'crushing vines' which used the vines that I had wrapped him in to crush him to death. With the thorns it splattered blood over my whole body. When I finished I used the vines to lift them and move them to the edge of the forest. When that was done I walked to the river and washed as much blood as possible off of me.

When I returned the tree was nothing at all but ash. It had the vines that were protecting Tsubaki right where she had been asleep before the fight. I brushed the ash off of them and released them. I collected the herbs that had survived the fire and picked up Tsubaki before heading away from it.

I found a nice spot so I could set Tsubaki down and make some tea. I started a small fire and brewed the tea with the herbs. When I was done I put the fire out and woke Tsubaki. She gave me a questioning look and I said "We were attacked and the tree was burned before I could finish them but don't worry. Drink some tea and hopefully Anko and the other anbu will come to tell us we are finished." She drank the tea before we heard her stomach growl. I looked at her with a sorry face and told her "All of our food burned along with the tree, sorry Tsubaki." Although all she did was wave me off as if saying 'it's fine.'

After a few minutes Anko showed up; she showed up so suddenly that Tsubaki jumped into the tree even as sick as she is. "Hey there you two, the first exam has finished so let's get out of here" she said as I helped Tsubaki down. When she saw how pale Tsubaki was she freaked "WHAT HAPPENED? ARE YOU OKAY, TSUBAKI?" she kept asking. Tsubaki waved her off as if saying the she was fine but Anko didn't believe her.

Anko sighed "Fine let's get going." I let go of Tsubaki to follow Anko thinking she could at least walk; until I heard a light thud and turned around. She had fallen to the ground breathing heavily and unable to stand back up. "You can just carry her back" Anko said. I walked over and placed Tsubaki on my back before following Anko out.

Gaara's P.O.V.

I was waiting with the others for Tsubaki and Neko to leave the forest but when they came out we all got really worried. Tsubaki was being carried by Neko and you could tell how pale and flushed she was from where we were all standing. We all sprinted over to them.

Neji and I were the first to reach them and asked what was wrong shortly followed by the others. Neko told us that Tsubaki had gotten sick three days into the exam but Tsubaki just waved us off as if nothing was wrong. None of us believed that she was fine seeing as she obviously wasn't.

Neko sat Tsubaki down so she was leaning against a tree and Anko had left to find Tsunade. We all sat around in a circle with Neko on Tsubaki's right and me on her left. After a few minutes of Neko telling everyone about what had happened during the exam I felt Tsubaki take hold of my hand; I could tell it was her because the hand was warmer than it should have been.

I looked over at her and she pointed to the ground; everyone looked at it. During the time Neko had been telling everyone what had happened Tsubaki had taken the time to write 'I love Gaara!' I looked at her stunned along with the others. "Really?" I asked her; she nodded. I grabbed onto her hand a bit and gave her a small smile. "I don't know much about love Tsubaki but I know that I care for you very much. Will you be my girlfriend and show me love so that I may also one day show it to you?" I asked. She then gave me one of the largest smiles I had ever seen and nodded her head.

Soon after Tsunade was in view and we all waved to her. She looked very scared and worried; after what Anko told her I wouldn't be surprised. Tsunade look at Tsubaki and Neko as if they were her own children just like she did Naruto. Tsubaki fell unconscious on my side her hand in my just as Tsunade arrived.


	12. Chapter 12A Love Arrises

Ch. 12

A Love Arises and Words Appear

Gaara's P.O.V.

(The next day)

When I woke up with Tsubaki in my lap I started to think about what had happened after Tsunade had arrived the day before. Tsubaki had been taken to the hospital as soon as Tsunade checked her temperature. Tsubaki's temperature was 105 degrees Fahrenheit; when Tsunade said that we all got very worried.

When she woke up at dinner she was begging for food and her stomach making sounds like a lion roaring. We all laughed at that but when she tried to get out of bed in order to walk to Ichiraku's, we stopped. I ended up having to sit on her bed and pull her onto my lap in order to keep her there. The others had gone and buy ramen for her.

After she had eaten she listened to everyone's worry about her. After a while she fell asleep. When I tried to get up to leave she grabbed onto my clothes and wouldn't allow me up. When the others tried to get her to let go she just tightened her grip.

So now here I sit with her head on my shoulder trapped – man I need to use the restroom. A knock on the door brought me out of thought. "You can come in" I called lightly in hopes of not waking the sleeping girl in my lap. When the door opened everyone came in saying "good morning Gaara."

They all found places to sit and we started to talk. After about half an hour Tsubaki blinked her eyes and yawned – this caught our attention. After we all said good morning she sat up and looked at us. Then she set one hand on her stomach and used the other to point at her mouth – we knew that she meant that she was hungry.

We laughed before sending for some rice, vegetable and bread. After Tsubaki ate Tsunade came in to check Tsubaki's temperature. "It's still higher than normal but has come down to a point that is not dangerous. She will be fine by tomorrow morning." She told us. We all sighed with relief.

I looked at Tsubaki and noticed that she seemed upset. "What's wrong, Tsubaki?" I asked her. For a moment I heard a light sound come from her and thought something was wrong. Then we all heard a light "Gaara."

The voice was new to everyone except for Neko it seemed. She had the largest smile I had ever seen on her face. Before we realized who had spoken, Neko had Tsubaki tight in her arms so tight I was worried that she would break her back.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

"YOU SPOKE! YOU SPOKE! FINALLY, OH, HOW I HAVE MISSED YOUR VOICE!" Neko cried in excitement. My poor cousin had even started to cry out of happiness. When the others got over their shock they all came and hugged me at once. I was barely able to breathe during it and was glad to get out after a minute.

Soon after Tsunade came in and asked "What is with all the commotion?" "She spoke, granny Tsunade. Tsubaki spoke!" Naruto replied excitedly. When she heard that I watched a smile come across her face. "You gave me quite a scare. Will you say something for me, too, please?" she asked. I nodded and slowly said "Tsu-na-de" in hope of not messing up. She smiled and came over to give me a big hug.

I was just as happy as the others that I finally - after a year – find my voice again. The best part was that the first thing I found I could say was Gaara's name. I would need to learn again so I could talk with everyone correctly but it should not take long.

After a few hours everyone but Gaara left to give me some time to rest. He was going to leave soon too; however, he wanted to talk to me first. "Why…. Why is it me that you love? How can you love a monster like me?" he asked suddenly. I looked at him for a moment then replied slowly with a slight smile "I love you because you are the one I fell in love with. You are not a monster. Yes, Shukaku resides within you but you are not him; you are you."

When I said this he looked at me with a shocked face. I giggled at that look and waited for him to reply. "You don't think that I am a monster? Are you telling the truth or just telling me what you want me to hear?" he finally asked. "I'm telling the truth Gaara. You are not a monster, Orochimaru is. You are nothing like him Gaara" I told him.

After I said that he gave me a hug and said "Thank you. Thank you so much, for seeing me as me and not some monster." I returned his hug and said "You're welcome Gaara. I love you." "I know and I know that I love you too and always, no matter what happens, will" He replied. My eyes filled with tears of pure joy as he gently pressed his soft yet rough lips to mine.


	13. Chapter 13Morning Meeting

Ch. 13

Morning Meeting

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

(2 weeks later)

I woke up to a bright sun and the smell of freshly cooked bird. 'I hope she made cheesy eggs to go with it today.' I got up and dressed before heading down to the kitchen. When got there I found Neji, Naruto and Sasuke sitting at the table talking with Neko as she cooked.

"Good morning guys what are you talking about?" I asked. They looked at me and said "The Second Exam" in unison. "Oh, yeah, that's today isn't it" I said excitedly. They all nodded and Neko came over with five plates of food sitting on top of one of her vines. She set one in front of each of us and we started breakfast.

After we finished eating I gathered the plates and started to wash them. As I washed the plates we all talked about how excited we were for the exam that was taking place later in the day. There was a knock on the door "I'll get it" I told the others. I opened the door to find all our other friends and Tsunade.

"Good morning" they all said as they came in. After everyone came in I shut the door and went into the living room where they were all waiting. I went over to Gaara - who was standing against the doorframe and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. He repaid me by wrapping his arms around my waist and giving me a light kiss on the mouth.

"Is something wrong Tsunade you normally don't come over so early in the morning?" Neko said from her spot on the couch between Kiba and Hinata. "Nothing is wrong. I just figured it would be easier to tell you all at the same time about the spy that's returning to the village today" She replied. Hinata looked at her and asked "Who is it Lady Tsunade?" Tsunade's eyes shifted to Sasuke uneasy before saying "Itachi Uchiha."

Sasuke looked at her as if she were insane before yelling "YOU LET THAT MURDERER BECOME A SPY AFTER HE KILLED MY FAMILY!" This scared me and I clung to Gaara who noticed and tightened his grip slightly. A yelling fight soon developed between Sasuke and Tsunade until Neko realized that I was scared. "STOP FIGHTING! YOU'RE SCARING TSUBAKI!" she yelled and everything went silent. Everyone looked from Neko to Gaara and me as they realized how scared I was.

Sasuke looked scared and ashamed of himself for starting that in front of me. Tsunade looked as if she were a mother that had just been slapped by one of her daughters. Gaara had been whispering calming words to me the whole time trying to get me to calm down.

Soon Tsunade came over and took me from Gaara in order to hug me and whisper how sorry she was. I began to cry and she started to whisper "Shh… It is okay, we didn't mean to scare you, honey…shhh."

A few minutes later I had calmed down and Neko asked "Who is Itachi Uchiha?" They all looked over at her and suddenly remembered that they had never mentioned him to us before. Sasuke was the first to speak. "That son of a bitch is my brother. He is also the person who murdered my family." As he said this he got a look that said he was ready to kill.

Tsunade looked up from me to him and said "Actually he didn't kill them. Orochimaru was the one to kill your family, Sasuke. He set it up to seem like it was Itachi that did it. Although Itachi arrived before Orochimaru had time to escape, so Itachi's memories have proven that it was actually Orochimaru."

Sasuke looked at her with a face that that let you know that he felt like a moron. "Shit and to think I said all that shit about all these years. Now to learn that I feel like an ass that should not be in his presence ever again." He said after a moment.

After a few more minutes we left to meet Itachi at the front gates. Tsunade had told us that he would be bringing some friends along with him. When I asked who he was bring Tsunade said that she had no clue. When we arrived we waited a few minutes before four figures are seen beyond the horizon.

They were dressed in black robes and had their hoods up. One of them was carrying a large sword on their back – it scared me. When they arrived at the gate they all removed their hoods and introduced themselves. The first had black hair, black eyes and didn't smile; he introduced himself as Itachi Uchiha. The second one was the one with the large sword; he looks like a shark with dark blue hair and legs – he scares me the most – his name is Kisame hoshigaki. The next one was a blonde that had mouths on the palm of his hands – it wasn't so much scary as it was weird – his name is Deidara. The last one had red hair just like Gaara's – he's the least scary so far – his name is Sasori.

I was scared but the others just smiled and shook hands with them as if they were old friends. "How was your journey Itachi?" Tsunade asked. "It was fine. We were luckily able to get here without any trouble at" he replied. I watched them nervously and soon Deidara noticed. He came over and asked excitedly "HI, what's your name?" I looked at him with slight fear in my eyes before glancing at the others who hadn't noticed.

I looked back at the blonde and quietly said "My names Tsubaki. Why do you have mouths on the palms of your hands?" He smiled at me and reached into his pocket and soon after pulled out a small clay bird. I looked at with wide eyes – I love small figurines – and before he knew what happened I was holding it. "NO! Give that back it's not safe; it's an explosive." This got every ones attention.

It startled me when he said that and I dropped the bird. Gaara and Tsunade had started to move towards me but Deidara had pushed me to the ground and covered me right as the bird blew. One of the trees had caught fire but before I saw it they had put it out. After a minute Deidara got up off of me and helped me up. "Are you okay, Tsubaki?" he asked.

I was about to lie and say I was fine, but I was so shaken up from it that it wouldn't have been believable at all. Tsunade, Gaara and Neko came over to check on me and I said "I'll be fine, just give me some time." Then I heard a 'ouch' in the background and looked to see Deidara getting hit on the head by Itachi – who looked beyond angry.

"I told you that you were not to create explosive art unless you needed to. I'm sorry for him I told him not to create those things but he apparently can't listen to rules" Itachi said while glaring at Deidara; who had hid behind Sasori. Sasori in turn sighed with a very annoyed look on his face. I went over to Itachi and set a hand on his arm. "It wasn't his fault. I asked him to show me and if I hadn't taken it this wouldn't have happened. I love small figurines and when I saw the little bird I had to hold it" I said with a look that begged him to forgive Deidara.

He sighed "I understand that but he still disobeyed a direct order" he said. I nodded and looked at Deidara with a face that said 'I'm sorry.' "Alright, alright everybody calm down and let's hurry up. The Second Exam will be starting soon and both Neko and Tsubaki are part of it. It also can't start till Gaara and I arrive" Tsunade stepped in with.

With that we headed off with Gaara, Neko and I leading and Itachi, Kisame, Sasori and Deidara bringing up the rear. We were ready; I knew that much – I wonder what will happen. I glanced at Neko and saw a determined face that I had never seen before. Seeing this made me realize that I was ready too.


	14. Chapter 14Second and Final Exam Begins

Ch. 14

Second and Final Exam Begin

Tsunade P.O.V.

When I arrived at the arena I found Gaara- who had at one point found time to change into his Kazekage robes- giving Tsubaki one last kiss and a 'good luck' to Neko. I walked over and asked if I could talk to the girls alone. He nodded and gave Tsubaki one last hug before heading to our seats.

I looked at the girls and smiled "You two are my pride and joy. You are the best students that I could have asked for and I send you off with great luck. I warn you now, should fire be used in Tsubaki's fight I will stop the match and give it to her opponent. I will do so because I know what will happen if I don't. I told them

I gave them each a hug and said "I see you both as daughters and wish to keep you safe. Please, be careful out there and come back to me safe and sound." They both smiled at me and Tsubaki said "we both see you as a mother. You taught us, watched over us and make sure we stay healthy and happy." They gave me one more hug before we went our separate ways.

Neko's P.O.V.

When we parted ways with Tsunade we started to head down to the arena. On the way we were stopped by all the rest of our friends. They each took a turn giving us a hug and telling us 'good luck'. With that we continued on our way to wait for the exam to begin.

We decided about half way down that walking took too long. Instead we took a step back and jumped from about the top of the arena to the ground floor. When we landed we heard a get knocked over and looked up to see Tsunade with a worried face and her chair knocked over. When she saw that we were okay she reset her chair and sat down.

We were the only ones there so far and we ended up waiting ten minutes until a third person arrived. The person was a male that had rainbow colored bangs but the rest of his hair was black. We know who he is but have never talked to him before. His name is Saku; I am certain that he is gay because of the way he watches Naruto.

Tsunade stood and said "welcome everyone; even though this is supposed to be the second exam because so many died in the first we will just have the third exam instead. We will have each of these three competitors fight one-on-one with a jounin level ninja in order to know that they are ready for this." Tsubaki looked really nervous and I swore that I heard her gulp.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

Neko stood tall but I knew that she was slightly nervous too. I grabbed her hand and she gave it a tight squeeze- no one else cared because they knew that if I ever got scared I would hold Gaara, Neko or Neji's hand for comfort.

We patiently waited for our fighting partners to be announced. As we waited I glanced at Saku; I always wondered why he was here. I also wondered what was special about him- I could tell he was very different from others. He suddenly sent me a glance and our eyes met. For a few short seconds everything went black. When I could see again he had already looked away.

It had been ten minutes before Tsunade stood up to inform us of who our opponents were going to be. "We have decided that the opponents will be three of the four missing ninja who have just this morning arrived in the village. Saku will be facing Kisame, Neko shall face Itachi, who has been a spy for our village since the Uchiha massacre, and Tsubaki will face Deidara." Almost everyone either gasped or started to shout their disagreements about it.

It surprised me when Sasuke stood up and said "Itachi and the others are of no harm here. Itachi never murdered our family; he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So let them be the opponents for they will make sure that everything goes well." Everyone stared at him as he smiled down at me. I smiled back as I pointed at the sky and everyone looked up to see 'thank you' written in the clouds.

The first fight was between Saku and Kisame, so Neko and I went to our seats. Neko sat to my left and there was an empty seat to my right for Saku. We heard Tsunade call "begin" but nothing happened except Kisame took his sword from his back. Both also got into a fighting stance and waited for the other to attack.

Saku was first to charge with a kunai in hand. Kisame blocked with his sword and pushed Saku away about ten feet. When Saku was out of the way you could see the blood on Kisame's right arm. I looked ready to throw up- I had never been good with blood- and looked over at Saku. At that moment Saku looked back and then everything went black.

I was still fully conscious but I couldn't see anything. I heard clashed of metal on metal, cheering and then a thump. After a few more minutes I could see again and I looked over at Neko and asked "What happened?" She looked at me in shock before saying "Saku just beat Kisame in the strangest way. One second Kisame's sword and Saku's kunai hit then Kisame started to look around as if Saku had disappeared. Saku was ready to attack Kisame from the front. Saku hit Kisame in the back of the neck rendering him unconscious."

Soon Saku was sitting on my right side and Neko stood up. I gave her hand a small squeeze before she headed down. As soon as she left Itachi walked past me with a small nod of the head; in which, I returned.

Once they were both in the arena they shook hands- unlike Saku and Kisame- and once again Tsunade called 'begin'. Unlike Saku and Kisame both Neko and Itachi charged at each other at the same time.

At first it was all taijutsu. It just went back and forth, every time Neko hit Itachi he hit back twice as hard, which led to her hitting him three times harder than that. After about ten minutes Neko did a basic clone jutsu and Itachi activated. 'This is where it really begins' I thought.

Neko used an earth jutsu and Itachi dodged before it could hit him. This continued and I had realized what Itachi was doing, he was tiring her out but Neko had yet to notice. After a few more minutes a look of realization appeared on Neko's face and I smiled. Soon my eyes started to wander from the fight; I looked at Saku he looked bored, and then up to Tsunade and Gaara who looked very serious as they watched the fight.

A moment later I heard Neko call my name in terror. I turned to see what was wrong but saw nothing other than fire. It was coming right at me; I froze in fear and closed my eyes as I waited for the burning pain that was to come; it never came. When I opened my eyes I found a sand wall mixed with a protecting vines jutsu which kept the fire from burning me.

I felt someone holding onto my arm as if ready to pull me out of the way. When I looked I found out it was Saku. Once I knew I was safe I curled into the smallest ball I could and started to cry and shake. Saku released my arm and I heard the sand as it went back into Gaara's gourd and the vines retreated into the ground.

The next thing I knew I was picked up and hugged close to someone. I looked up to find Tsunade holding me with Gaara and Neko right behind her with worry on their faces. I clutched onto her crying harder and she started to rub my back in order to calm me. You could hear all my friends as they came running and asked Neko if I was okay. They already knew the answer; I was completely fine but had been scared by the fire.

Neko's P.O.V.

I watched as Tsunade held Tsubaki and soon felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to find Itachi who asked "Is she okay? Was she hurt? I'm so sorry about this." I looked at him and said "She is completely unharmed; she just has a fear of fire because of something that happened three years ago." Itachi looked at Tsubaki again and then back at me. "Is it possible for you to tell me what happened, please?" he asked.

I nodded and then waved him to follow me. We walked for a little while before Iruka, Kakashi, Deidara and Sasori stopped us. "Can you tell us what's going on?" Kakashi asked in a slightly annoyed tone. I nodded and said "Tsubaki is having a panic attack." Iruka was about to ask why she was scared but I just told them to come with Itachi and I.

After a few more minutes of walking I found a spot that didn't have anyone else around. I stopped and sat down before motioning the others to sit as well. I explained what had happened in our village the three years before as well as why we had to leave our village. When I finished the story Deidara and Iruka were hugging each other crying, Itachi didn't seem different until you looked into his eyes- they were filled with a feeling that showed that he understood- and Sasori looked slightly saddened by the story. I couldn't tell how Kakashi felt.

After a few minutes Kakashi asked "Did you ever figure out who started the fire the first time?" I shook my head and said "It was impossible since we lived in such a small village." By then you could have sworn that someone could drown in the tears Deidara and Iruka were crying.

After Deidara and Iruka stopped crying a few minutes later we all headed back to where the others were. When we got back we found Tsubaki asleep in Tsunade's arms. When she saw us she handed Tsubaki to Gaara and waved Deidara over to speak with him. After a few minutes he returned and Tsunade headed back to her seat.

After she had returned to her spot she called "The last match will be postponed until tomorrow when Tsubaki is feeling better. Also the winner of Neko and Itachi's match is Itachi. The winner does not affect if she passes or not, that shall be decided later. That is all, thank you."

When she was done she came back she told me that I was to take Tsubaki strait home and I understood why. I asked Gaara if he could carry her back to our house. He happily- at least I think he was happy- replied that he would. The others walked with us until we came close to their homes then they would be on their way

When we got to our house we said goodbye to Naruto and went inside. I showed Gaara to Tsubaki's room and told her to put in her bed. When he went to let her go Tsubaki gripped his clothes tight enough that it could break steel. I told him that he could stay the night since we both knew that her grip was too tight to try to get her to release it.

It was almost 2 in the morning before I headed to bed. I looked in on Gaara and Tsubaki one last time before going to my room. When I checked I found Gaara lying on the bed wide awake watching Tsubaki as she slept with her hand gripping his shirt; it was as if she was a small child. I quietly shut the door and headed to bed.


	15. Chapter 15Win or Lose, Who Made It

Ch. 15

Win or Lose, Who Made It

Neko's P.O.V.

When I woke up I felt as if I didn't sleep at all and tried to go back to sleep but gave up after ten minutes realizing that I would not be going back to sleep. The sun had yet to rise and when I looked at the clock I noticed that the sun wouldn't be up for another hour. I went and looked in on Gaara and Tsubaki and to my surprise Gaara was awake as well.

I went in and asked "what are you doing up so early?" He looked up and replied "I don't sleep; I'm not allowed" I looked at him surprised and asked "why are you not allowed?" His eyes looked slightly upset by the question but he still replied. "Shukaku; if I ever fall asleep he takes over my body." I understood that it was a sensitive subject and left it at that.

I went back to my room in order to change before leaving for a short walk. I walked down the street until I came to the training fields. I walked around for a bit but soon decided to sit under one of the trees and wait for the sun to rise.

After a few minutes I saw someone walking towards me. As they got closer I found that it was Itachi; who also seemed to be very tired. He came up to me and said "good morning. May I join you?" I nodded my head and he sat down next to me.

A few minutes went by before anything was said. "I'm sorry that I was the one to win our match yesterday" was the first thing Itachi did say. I looked at him stunned for a moment then replied "it wasn't you fault. I should have noticed that you were trying to wear me out sooner."

He gave me a light smile and then looked at the sky. "I still feel bad about what I did to Tsubaki. Can you tell me about what happened after the fire in you village?" I nodded to him and began telling him about our lives after that, the attack on the village and our time in Konoha. He sat and listened as the story went on and by the time I was done the sun had risen.

We were about to leave when he asked "what are your feelings towards me?" I looked at him for a moment before replying "I like you and if you let them the feeling could grow with time." We both stood and he grabbed my hand. "I think I can let that happen" he said with a smirk which I smiled at.

He walked me home and I invited him in for breakfast. As I cooked breakfast Gaara came in with Tsubaki right behind him. Itachi looked worried a bit but Tsubaki said 'good morning' to us both cheerfully. I set the eggs, toast and bird meat on the table while Tsubaki got the plates down.

Itachi was a bit confused and looked at Gaara as he stood to pull out Tsubaki's chair out. After Tsubaki thanked Gaara she noticed Itachi's confusion and smiled while saying "I'm not mad at you. I understand that you didn't mean to scare me and no one told you about my fear ahead of time." Itachi nodded and took the plate handed to him with a 'thank you.'

Aster we all finished eating we grabbed everything we would need for the match and left. As we walked to the arena I held hands with Itachi and Tsubaki with Gaara; both boys as impassive as ever. It was very quiet and more than likely everyone else was already at the arena excited to watch Tsubaki's match. Tsubaki, Gaara and I understood why they were excited but Itachi wondered why it was the whole way there.

When we got there Gaara left after giving Tsubaki a quick kiss and a 'good luck.' We saw the others who were surprised that Itachi and I were together but they quickly got over it and told Tsubaki 'good luck.' Neji looked worried to death about his 'sister' going out to fight an ex-s-class missing ninja but Tsubaki gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek to help sooth him. "Don't worry about me, I'm gonna go kick some butt." she said with a smile that rivaled Naruto's

With that she jumped down to the arena to meet Deidara and the rest of us headed to our seats. I invited Neji to sit with Saku and me for moral support but he turned me down flat saying he was fine. I sat in the same seat I had when watching Saku's fight and he was sitting in his looking quite interested in what was about to happen.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

When I got into the arena I thought 'I might have said that but I'm scared to death about what might happen.' Deidara was already there and when he saw me came over and hugged me saying "sorry" over and over again. I looked at him wondering what the hell he was talking about.

Tsunade soon called the beginning of the match and Deidara released me, bowed and walked over to the other end of the arena. We both got into different fighting stances and waited for a moment. I then decided to get the wind starting and soon after almost everyone was holding onto their seats in hopes of not getting blown away.

Deidara was wondering why it had picked up so quickly but shortly after had a face of realization covering it. I lifted him off the ground with the wind and the second he was off the ground I threw him into the wall. Just before he hit he threw a clay bird at me but I used the wind to stop it about a foot away from me. Even with it stopped when it blew I was thrown to the ground 5 feet from where I had just been.

I used the wind to help me land a little softer but it still hurt when I hit the ground. When I got up I had to look around to find Deidara and found him about 30 feet about the ground on the back of a giant clay bird. I knew how good Deidara was at keeping these in control and caught the wings with large blocks on earth. Once it was caught I sent heat through the earth and into the Bird making it blow up. Deidara was blown upward from the power before coming back down and landing on his stomach with a little blood on him and on the surrounding ground.

I waited for him to get up but he never did, that was when I noticed how fast the bleeding had gotten worse. Tsunade called the match as my win but I had not notices as I ran over to Deidara to stop the bleeding. I turned him over and found many deep cuts and third degree burns all over his chest, arms and legs- most of his clothes had also been destroyed in the explosions.

I started screaming "HELP! HE NEEDS HELP! TSUNADE, HE NEED YOUR HELP, NOW!" I had started shaking with my eyes wide and tears running down my face non-stop. Everyone that had been excited over my win had stopped cheering and also became worried. Tsunade, Gaara and the others were there right after I screamed and the moment she could Tsunade was at Deidara's side trying to stop the bleeding and heal as much as she could at once.

Gaara came straight to me and pulled me into his arms so I could cry on his shoulder while the others tried to help Gaara calm me. Tsunade and I were the only ones to see what happened to Deidara because by the time the others could see him most of the injuries were healed, and the rest bandaged. Once it was safe he was moved onto a bench not far from where he had fallen.

Tsunade came over to where I was sitting with Gaara and told me that Deidara was awake and would like to see me. I stood up and told the others to wait there as I walked over to him. I sat down next to him and he looked at me the said "Now I understand why everyone was so excited to see you fight. You are better than anyone I have ever faced." I started to cry again and said "Thank you! I'm so sorry about this; I didn't mean to hurt you so badly." "It is okay, I know that you would never hurt me this badly on purpose. I know that because you love all of us way too much to." he replied with a smile gracing his face.

I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled back. He was soon moved onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital with both Itachi and Sasori following closely behind. Tsunade walked over to me and asked if she could now announce who had become a jounin. I told her that she could and she headed back up to her seat with Gaara.

When they arrived Tsunade called for quiet before saying "We have decided that all three of these wonderful ninja are ready to become jounin. The three of them will not be separated into different teams but will form their own because we find that they will work best together. That is all. Thank you."

Neko and I smiled at each other and then I looked over and found Saku smiling slightly. "Hey, we should celebrate tonight don't you think?" Tenten suggested. "YEAH" I said before getting strange looks from the others as I ran over to Saku. "Do you want to come to Saku? Since were going to be on the same team now we should become friends, don't you think?" I said as if I was a child excited about getting ice cream. He looked at me for a second before nodding his head and saying "sure."


	16. Chapter 16Another Round of Truth or Dare

Ch. 16

Another Round of Truth and Dare

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

As we all shopped for food and drinks for the party that evening we all debated on where we were going to have it. By the time we finished we had decided on having it at Sasuke's house - seeing at it was the largest home without having any elders and family to annoy.

Neko, Saku and I decided that before the party we would help each other choose our outfits. When we got to our home Saku and Neko raided my closet first seeing as Saku said 'Tsubaki will need the most help'. They ended up choosing a knee length, royal blue, sleeveless dress with a pair of black flats - seeing as I can't walk in heels. I had a steel necklace with a heart shaped red ruby jewel on and a ruby red sequined band around my upper arm. I fought them over the make-up but ended up allowing them to put some blush on my cheeks. My hair was pulled into a bun that had the strands fall to the side of it and my bangs fell in gentle waves on each side of my face. The last thing they added was a royal blue flower atop of the bun.

After that it was Neko's turn and we still had two hours till the party started. Saku raided her closet and found a black dress that had a slight frill around the shoulder and the bottom edge of the dress; the dress fell to just under her knees. She had dark red half-inch heels and a bracelet in the same shade. We left her hair down but put a dark red flower behind her right ear and like me she had a bit of blush on her cheeks.

With an hour left we all walked to Saku's house to help him with his. Neko raided his closet to find mostly skirts and dresses but we had him wear a pair of black knee-length shorts and a bright pink and purple shirt. We left his hair alone and didn't let him wear any make-up like he wanted. He had three bracelets on one that was a chain of small fake stone skulls, a chain of pink hearts and a chain of round purple ones with all random shapes.

When we were done we left and headed for Sasuke's house. I looked over at Saku who looked very nervous and asked "Are you okay, Saku?" He looked at me and nodded. I gave him a worried look when he wasn't looking but said nothing else.

We got there right on time and found everyone else was already there. When Gaara saw me he came over and said "You look beyond gorgeous." I smiled and blushed a shade of red close to Gaara's hair; at which Gaara gave a small smile. When I looked at Neko she was a darker shade of red than I was and when I looked over to Saku I noticed he was watching Naruto. A evil smile crossed my face and when Gaara noticed he suddenly felt bad for whoever it was that was about to go through something crazy.

I grabbed Gaara's hand and dragged him over to where Neko and Itachi were. I whispered what I had seen in Neko's ear along with "let's find a way to get Saku and Naruto together." Neko got a scary grin on her face that made Itachi worry about what was going to happen. We soon started planning and the first thing we thought of was truth or dare - we were more than likely to play anyway.

We decided to wait for a bit before offering and sat down to eat with our boyfriends. I had more pieces of meat then Gaara could count and Neko just ate fruit and vegetables. Itachi just ate the pocky he had brought and Gaara had some meat and an apple.

It was getting close to dark when Neko and I looked at each other and nodded. "Who wants to play 'truth or dare'?" Neko called and everyone basically cried 'YES!' as we headed over no one noticed the evil smiles that Neko and I shared.

We all sat in a giant circle and Neko said that she would start much to everyone else dismay. She looked at Naruto and said "truth or dare." "Dare" was how he replied. "I dare you to... hit Sasuke in the head and if you can't you have to ram your head into a tree" she dared. Naruto got up and tried to hit Sasuke in the head but gave up after five minutes and hit his head into a tree. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Saku tense and glare at Neko in anger.

He came back with a bloody forehead so I wrapped his head to keep it from bleeding too much. He then said "Thanks, Tsubaki. Hinata truth or dare." Hinata quietly replied "truth." Naruto thought for a moment then said "Who do you think will be the next Hokage." Hinata replied with his name and Naruto cried "BELIEVE IT!" Almost everyone smiled at this and Hinata soon said "Neji nii-kun truth or dare." "Dare." "Make out with Tenten for three minutes" everyone laughed when both of them started to blush.

After three minutes the two stopped and Neji asked Temari "truth or dare." "Dare." "I dare you to break one of Kankuro's puppets." "Gladly" she replied before standing and heading over to Kankuro who got up and started moving away in order to try and protect his puppets. Soon she got ahold of one and breaking off one of the arms. She went back to her seat and Kankuro looked very upset but was still grateful that it wasn't worse since he knew he could fix it.

Once Temari was ready she looked at Kiba who said "truth" before she could even ask. Everyone looked at him shocked and Kiba said "Who knows what she would have dared me to do." "Who do you have a crush on?" Temari smirked as Kiba blushed before nervously saying "Hinata." Hinata blushed as well but smiled at him as she went and sat beside him. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and I had to hold Neji back, in order to keep him from killing Kiba.

It was a few minutes before Kiba looked at me and asked "truth or dare." "Dare" "Off the top of your head tell us a poem." I looked at everyone before standing up and taking a deep breath. I closed my eyes and began

"In a village hidden in the leaves...

A single leaf can easily be over looked.

But the leaves that surrounded it... never forget.

In time they fall as well...

And again nestle together...

... On their new bed of earth."

(Not mine borrowed from Sun and Moon by AnimeFan-Artemis on )

When I opened my eyes everyone was looking at me with surprise covering their faces. I blushed and sat back down and put my face in Gaara's neck as everyone told me how great it was. After a minute I looked at Saku and before I said anything he answered "dare." I dared him to kiss Naruto. As he went over Naruto looked very nervous and right before Saku kissed him he moved away in slight fear; but not in fear of Saku but fear of rejection of his real feelings.

I noticed this and mentioned how late it was getting. The others who all had yet to realize looked around and agreed to leave. We all helped Sasuke clean up before leaving. Gaara, Itachi, Neko, Naruto, Saku and I all walked home together. About two thirds of the way home Saku turned and headed for his home with a 'good night' to us all. As soon as Neko and I were sure Saku was out of hearing range we started to plot. Naruto thought 'oh no who are they after this time?' While Gaara and Itachi thought 'whatever is happening, good luck to someone.'

When we arrived home Naruto said 'good night' and went to his apartment. Itachi gave Neko a good night kiss as Gaara gave me mine before heading home themselves. Neko and I locked up and then got changed for bed. After we were ready for bed we sat at the table for a bit devising a plan to get Saku and Naruto together. We soon had a complete plan set, so we headed to bed ready to start tomorrow.


	17. Chapter 17The Mission Begins

Ch. 17

The Mission Begins

Neko and I both up later than expected but because we were so tired it took us almost half an hour to realize that we were an hour late for our meeting with Tsunade. We had already started making our eggs so we finished before putting it on two plates and running out the door as we ate.

We were almost there when I tripped and got egg all over me I didn't bother to clean it off but started running even faster to catch up with Neko. As I ran most of the egg flew off and hit unexpected bystanders. Each time I would call "sorry" over my shoulder.

When we arrived we came face to face with a very angry Tsunade and Saku and Shizune who showed worry on their faces. I gulped and braced myself to be yelled at, while Neko got ready to argue back about what happened. It was a moment later when I noticed Tsunade's sake bottle was out and realized how worried she had been. I knew this because even though it is not an abnormal thing it was strange that Shizune had not started yelling at her about it.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? I HAVE BEEN WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU TWO!" Tsunade started. "WE WERE ASLEEP AND BECAUSE WE WERE SO TIRED WHEN WE WOKE UP THAT WE FORGOT ABOUT THE MEETING!" Neko replied. This went back and forth for a while before Saku came over to me and asked "why do you have egg and blood all over you?" I looked at him confused for a moment before remembering that I had fallen not long before arriving.

I had not noticed that all the arguing had stopped until Tsunade had ahold of my head, looking over all the scratches on my face and scalp. Soon after she started she told Shizune to go get some water and a cloth in order to clean me off with. Neko and Saku just stood and watch as Tsunade looked over the small wounds.

When Shizune returned with the water and cloth Tsunade took them and began to scrub the egg and blood out of my hair and off my face gently. Once and a while I would wince since it stung a little but after a while Tsunade finished and put the ointment, that was to help with infection, on the cuts.

After Tsunade finished she made me sit on the couch as she took as seat at her desk. "How did you get cuts and egg all over you" she asked after taking a calming breath. I rubbed the back of my neck trying to figure out how to explain what had happened to her.

I took a deep breath before explaining what had happened before we had arrived. When I was done I had wished I hadn't told her at all. She gave me a disappointed look and started ranting about how I have to be more careful when in a hurry.

After she finished she asked if we were still up for our mission. Our reply of course was that we were both ready to go and we asked what it was. "Your mission is to go with Naruto and Gaara's teams to the Village Hidden in the sand. They have been in need of some help restoring and organizing some old scrolls. Gaara can explain the rest on the way. Meet them at three o'clock at the front gate" she explained.

Before we left Tsunade got up and gave each of us a hug and told us "have a safe trip." We returned the hugs and replied "be back soon." With that we took our leave along with Saku and I asked if we could go to Ichiraku's ramen before we left. Neko and Saku both agreed and we head over.

Saku ordered on small bowl while Neko and I ordered our usual; Neko having three bowls and me getting eight. We ate in silence mostly and the others finished before me. Saku kept looking at me with a mix of disgust and confusion on his face; I paid no mind and Neko was too busy thinking to notice.

When I was done we paid and headed to Saku's house because it was closer to the main gate than our house. After we arrived we sat around and talked for a bit. Neko and I told him our story and about my fear, of course, but whenever we asked about him he avoided our questions.

Soon it was time to go and to our surprise, when we arrived, Kakashi was there. I looked at Naruto and asked him "how did you get him to come on time?" "I told him that we were meeting at 2 instead of 3 so he would be here on time" he replied. I laughed lightly and Gaara came over and kissed me cheek as the last three arrived.

Once we were sure we had everything we would need we headed out and soon after we reached the forest I heard a whimpering. I looked towards the others who seemed to have not heard it before following the whimpering. I followed it till I was about fifty feet away from the path and I found a small almost newborn wolf cub with its mother. Unfortunately the mother had died from a large wound it had obviously gotten in a fight.

I took a sash from my bag and slowly picked up the cub, in order to not startle it, before wrapping it in the sash. I gently set the cub down before creating a hole for the mother and buried her. I then picked up the cub once again and started back towards the path.

Just as I returned to the path I heard Neko calling my name obviously worried. I walked at a faster yet gentle pace towards her and the others. It wasn't long before I reached them and I found Neko freaking out with Saku, Naruto and Sasuke trying to calm her down while the others just sat waiting. Gaara's face was impassive but I could still tell he had been worried.

When Neko saw me she tried to tackle me but I moved out of the way and she ran into the tree behind me. I felt bad but I didn't want the cub to get hurt and she pouted at me but stopped when she heard the cub whimpering hungrily. It was then that they all noticed that I was carrying the poor thing. Gaara asked "what is that?" and I looked at him confused for a moment before realizing that he meant the cub. "A wolf cub" I answered quietly. "Why do you have it?" he asked me. "Because I found it weeping over its dead mother. I couldn't just leave it there to die as well" I replied frantically.

Gaara looked ready to tell me to take it back but when I gave him a pleading look he sighed and waved for me to sit next to him. I smiled and sat by him as he leaned against the tree. I revealed the small cub and looked it over for injuries. I found it was a female cub and that she had about half of her tail missing.

She started to beg for food so I got my bag out and tried to find a liquid that she could eat. I found a small carton of milk that I had brought; I really didn't need to worry about it going bad since I was able to keep it cold. I used my power to heat it up slightly before I opened it and held the carton to the small wolf's mouth. She tasted it before deciding it was safe to drink and slowly finishing the rest.

The others didn't rush me as I fed her but once she finished I told the others we could continue and we headed off. After a little while Temari asked "What are you going to name it?"

I thought for a moment before saying "her name is Shyra. What do you think?"

Temari replied "I think it's a wonderful name."

After this we continued in silence until the sun began to set. Kakashi suggested that we stop for the night. Gaara was about to say that we should go a bit further but before he could I had already finished putting up two of the tents and almost done with a third. Temari and Kankuro looked slightly worried thinking Gaara would be upset but all he did was sigh in annoyed and sit against a tree not far from me.

Shortly after I finished Neko and I worked together to make a small fire. I freaked out slightly but Gaara calmed me down before it got very bad. Kakashi and Naruto had gone and caught some fish and rabbit, which Saku was now cooking over the fire.

As we waited I saw Naruto sneaking glances at Saku as he cooked. I smirked but when Kakashi looked over it went back to my calm smile. He gave me a strange look and all I did was smile slightly wider and beg the gods that he didn't notice what I had been smirking at.

Once he looked away I threw a small pebble at Neko and mouthed 'watch Naruto's eyes.' She looked at me strangely but watched him for a few moments before smirking towards me. At that moment the others looked as if chills had run down their spins, as we seemed to think the same thing. 'Let the games begin!'


	18. Chapter 18Let the Games Begin

Ch. 18

Let the Games Begin

Neko's P.O.V.

Soon after Naruto's glances had been noticed the food was ready. As we ate Kakashi mentioned how late it had gotten and that since we were going to have to leave early we should head to bed after we finished.

I finished before the other but decided to wait for Tsubaki and Shyra to finish. It had been decided earlier that I would share a tent with Tsubaki and Shyra while Temari and Kankuro share, as Naruto shared with Saku and Kakashi, Gaara and Sasuke had watch.

A few minutes later everyone finished and headed to bed. I almost laughed as I watched Naruto and Saku's cheeks got a light coating of a pink blush. As I got in our tent Tsubaki was laughing most likely for the same reason I was about to laugh. We both calmed down after a few minutes and went to bed.

Next morning

Saku's P.O.V.

I was the first to wake up the next morning. For the first few minutes I just watched Naruto as he slept, wishing he would hold me tightly in his arms as he kissed me gently. I sighed sadly at the thought knowing it would never happen.

After a few more minutes I left the tent to find Kakashi reading one of his perverted books in a tree and Gaara sitting outside Tsubaki and Neko's tent. I waved to them but only Gaara acknowledged me with a small nod of his head.

I sat next to where the fire had been the night before. I already knew that Tsubaki would want breakfast when she got up, so I started to restart the fire. I looked up when I heard rustling in the bushes but noticed it was only Gaara leaving. I turned back to the fire and added a bit more wood as it caught.

Not too long after Gaara left he returned carrying two large birds, some fish and a rabbit. I smiled as he handed them to me. I began to skin and gut all of the food; even if it was the most disgusting part. After that I set it all over the fire to cook.

A few minutes after it started cooking, Tsubaki and Shyra came sprinting out of their tent pulling a grumpy Neko behind them. Shyra started to beg the moment she sat down and Tsubaki was sniffing at the food and beginning to drool. Neko sat up and glared at her cousin most likely because she had been woken up just because Tsubaki had wanted to eat.

Just as the food finished cooking did Temari, Kankuro and Naruto came out of their tents stretching. We all said 'good morning' and sat down but before we could begin eating Kakashi came down from the tree and said "Let's wait for Sasuke so he gets his share as well."

We all set our food down but it was right then that Sasuke walked out of a bush with his hair falling in his face, soaked. He comes over and sits between Neko and I grabbing his share. The rest of us get our own and we all began to eat.

After we finished we put the fire out, we cleaned everything up. Once the tents were put away we started out.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

As we walked with Temari and Kankuro leading the way, while Kakashi and Sasuke talked about different genjutsu. Saku and Naruto were behind them and Neko, Gaara, Shyra and I brought up the rear.

I looked up to Neko who looked back at me and we nodded to each other. Then Naruto suddenly 'tripped' and landed on Saku who fell to the ground in surprise with Naruto landing on top of him.

The moment he 'tripped' I had used my power to force a block of the earth up right under his foot. This easily knocked him off balance.

I smirked as I 'tripped' over Naruto forcing him to kiss Saku. They both had wide eyes full of surprise but by the time I had stood up Naruto had taken control of the kiss and Saku was moaning slightly.

Saku's P.O.V.

'Damn Tsubaki did that on purpose' I thought after Naruto fell on me. As I started to sit up Tsubaki tripped over Naruto forcing him to kiss me. We were both very obviously surprised but soon Naruto was kissing me harder and I relaxed into it.

He licked my lower lip gently asking for entrance, which I allowed. His warm tongue slid into my mouth and searched the moist caverns. I moaned deeply wishing for it to continue.

Unfortunately, soon after it started Naruto pulled away in order to allow us both to breath. As I calmed down I noticed everyone was staring at us and I began to blush. Naruto though was beat red and I began to worry about how the others would react. That was till Sasuke came over and shoved Naruto into me saying "tell him how you feel dobe!"

By now we were both standing and the others were watching us, waiting for one of us something. Naruto turned and waved at the as if telling them to leave. So they all turned around and left us alone to talk.  
Once the others were out of our sight Naruto turned back around and looked me in the eyes. I looked back at him waiting for him to say something and the first thing he said was "I love you." He said it so seriously that I knew he wasn't joking. I smiled and small tears of joy came to my eyes as I replied "I love you as well, with all I am." **(CHEEZIEST LINE EVER!)**

He smiled with his cheeks red before leaning towards me. I leaned towards him and we met half way in a small sweet kiss. After a minute he bit my lower lip asking for entrance and as I gasped his tongue plunged into my mouth. I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

We came up for air but were kissing again only seconds later. I gasped again when I realized that his hands were traveling lower and he was going to take off my shirt. Although just before he could Tsubaki came back into sight and yelled "ARE YOU DONE YET? WE HAVE A MISSION, YOU KNOW!"

Naruto stopped and moved back as he blushed. The others soon came back as well. Sasuke was walked up to Naruto with a smirk covering his whole face as he gave him a high five. I could have sworn I heard him say "way to go" quietly in order to keep from others to hear him. Soon we set off and I smile as Naruto took hold of my hand.


	19. Chapter 19Fire in Suna

Ch. 19

Fire in Suna

One week later

Neko's P.O.V.

It's been a week since Tsubaki and I got Naruto and Saku together and five days since we arrived in Suna. The work is easy and we should be finished in the next few days. We sent word to Tsunade informing her on how it was going and that we thought we would be home soon.

Saku and I are out getting groceries since we ran out last night. Tsubaki is back at the house asleep with Gaara. We bought a variety of foods and made it back before Tsubaki woke. This was a good thing because if we hadn't and she woke with no food she would be very cranky; like a child that's lacking sleep.

I started cooking and soon Tsubaki was up and at the table fully dressed. Gaara sat next to her and they waited as I finished the eggs. As I put the food on the table Tsubaki complained about not having any meat with breakfast but Gaara told her to stop and thankfully she complied.

After we finished we headed towards the Kazekage tower to work on the moving and restoring of the documents some more. Tsubaki's job was to separate the documents and scrolls that could and could not be read. Then organize ones that could be read into groups by what they were about. After that the rest of us would move the legible ones to a new location for safe keep and gave the rest to ninja that could figure out what the unreadable ones said and re-wrote them. It was boring, yes, but it was helping all of them.

Naruto's, Gaara's, Saku and I were heading back to the tower after dropping off some documents. I was thinking about Itachi and how much I missed him. I thought about his dark hair, his black and red eyes, his-. There was a scream that interrupted my train of thought and I looked around and saw smoke. It was the same smoke that you would see when a house was burning and it was coming from the same direction as the Kazekage tower.

Fear flooded through me and I could almost hear Tsubaki screaming for me. I took off leaving the others stunned behind me before the came after me. The closer I got the more fear I felt and it got even worse when I found that it _was_ the Kazekage tower.

It took me a minute to comprehend that Tsubaki was trapped in the fire. The others soon caught up and realized what I had soon as well. I started towards the tower but Saku grabbed me and said loudly "YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE!"

I replied with "BUT TSUBAKI'S IN THERE!"

Right after I said this I saw a flash of red and black covered in sand and when we turned we found that Gaara was gone. I knew he felt he had to help and comfort her. I also knew that he was easily more help to her than I was.

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

The others had just left and I started to organize some more documents. I got the large box and opened it to find sealed scrolls. I took all of them and set them on the table. I turned back to the box and began sorting the rest of the scrolls it held.

After a bit I felt a presence but when I turned around no one was there and it had disappeared. I went back to work but after a few minutes the room grew warm and I heard crackling like you would from a fire.

I turned around so quickly that anyone else would have ended up with whiplash. I found a large fire coming from the desk I had set the scrolls on. My eyes grew and I backed up trying to find a way out; not remembering I could just put it out.

There was a sudden scream outside followed by more as the people realized what was happening. There were calls for sand to help put it out and people yelling to make sure no one was inside. I slipped on some papers but instead of trying to find a way to get out I curled into fetal position to afraid to do anything else.

I stayed there begging with all my might that someone would realize that I was still here and would come to help me. I then heard shouts' coming from outside, it was Saku and Neko. 'Saku must have been keeping Neko from coming in after me' I thought. Right after that a piece of the ceiling fell on my right foot. I was able to get free but was in excruciating pain.

I finally found my voice again and screamed. Hoping someone would reply I listened as I moved away from the piece of the ceiling slowly. When I looked around I realized how little space I had left after how much the fire had spread.

There was a cracking sound but it wasn't coming from the fire, I looked up to find that the ceiling was about to collapse. I braced myself as it began to fall but there was no pain and nothing had landed on me. I opened my eyes to find sand surrounding me. I was picked up and even though I knew who had saved me I looked to see Gaara.

I bit my lower lip and my eyes became moist with the tears of fear that I had been holding in. I clung to him crying and Gaara rubbed my back speaking softly to me as we left. As he left with me in his arms I slowly fell asleep.

Gaara's P.O.V.

As I walked out of the tower I looked down to find Tsubaki had fallen asleep on the way. When I got to the others I set her gently on the ground and checked her over. I found many minor scratches and bruises that didn't worry me but was glad I had gotten to her when I did once I saw her right foot. It was crushed and seemed that if Tsunade didn't get here quickly Tsubaki would never walk normally if at all ever again.

"I need someone to find a way to get Tsunade here NOW!" I nearly yelled.

"Even if we send our fastest ninja it could still take days to get her here" one of my best squad leaders said.

'Shit' was the only word that came to my mind. I was trying to think of what to do when Neko came over holding a small seal.

"This will bring Tsunade here in seconds. She gave it to us while we were training under her. She told me that if anything bad was to happen and we needed her right away to us it. Do you need me to get her here this second?" she explained

"Yes, if we don't get her here now Tsubaki will never walk normally or at all again." I replied. She nodded and grew a small cactus which she gently plucked a needle from it. After this she pricked her finger hard enough to draw blood and droops some onto the seal. The seal was set on the ground and less than ten seconds later Tsunade appeared with so much fear on her face that it scared me.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked worriedly as she walked over to where Neko and I were. "Where's Tsubaki" she asked as even more worry came upon her face. I stepped back a bit and she saw Tsubaki. Her eyes widened as she ran over and dropped down next to her in order to check over the injuries.

After a few minutes Tsunade turned back and asked "What happened?" in one of the most broken voices I had ever heard.

"The Kazekage tower caught fire while everyone besides Tsubaki was moving some scrolls. Tsubaki was in the tower by herself when it caught and had been too afraid to do anything. By the time Gaara got to her the building had already begun to collapse and the ceiling almost fell on her. I suspect that's what happened to her foot" Neko explained.

"Well it's a _very_ good thing you kept that seal. Don't worry about her anymore though I can fix her foot and she will have a good chance of walking properly after a few months of healing and rehabilitation." Tsunade said her face still a bit weary.

I sighed in relief knowing she would be able to walk again but was still very worried about her mental state. I looked over to where Tsubaki was and thought "With what's happened will she go back to her silent ways, will it be worse than before or will she get better with it?"


	20. Chapter 20A surprising Occurrence

Ch. 20

A Surprising Occurrence

One week later

Middle of night

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

I woke up to a dark room and a pain in my leg. I tried to see why it hurt but since there was no light I couldn't tell. It was then that I remembered what happened in the tower.

'This is probably a hospital room since I was hurt so badly. I wonder what happened after Gaara got me out of the tower?' I questioned. I then saw a small light at my door and I closed my eyes.

I heard someone walk up to my bed and was surprised to feel Tsunade's chakra. I slowly opened my eyes as if I had just woken up. Tsunade looked surprised yet happy to see I had woken up.

"Tsubaki, how do you feel?" Tsunade asked.

"I've been better. My leg hurts and I need a glass of water but that's all." I replied with a smile.

Tsunade smiled back and said "Of course your foot hurts it was nearly turned to dust in that fire." I chuckled lightly and looked over to the candle. All I thought was how pretty it was.

Tsunade must have noticed my stares because she went to put it out. She pulled it closer to her to blow it out but before she could I grabbed her wrist gently and said "Don't put it out. It's so beautiful it shouldn't have to disappear."

She stared at me as if she had seen an alien. I could understand though I hadn't looked at a flame in over two years without getting at least slightly scared; let alone called one beautiful. Still after a moment she smiled at me and said "It's only three in the morning you should get back to sleep. I will leave the candle here for you."

I smiled and nodded my head as she set the candle down on the bedside table next to me. I thanked her before snuggling into the covers. Tsunade gently kissed my forehead before leaving the room. After she was gone I closed my eyes and fell back into a peaceful sleep.

8 o'clock next morning

I woke up to a bright light and yelling. I looked towards the door just as Naruto and the others walked in. Naruto was yelling at Tsunade for not telling them that I had woken up earlier while the others tried their best to ignore him. I smiled at their antics, happy to see them again.

Gaara was the first to realize I was awake and walked over to me. I smiled at him and he placed a light kiss on my lips. "I guess you're okay if you can smile like that." He said.

"Yeah I feel much better. How was it around here without me?" I asked

"Loud like always but I was really lonely." He said with an impassive face but I could tell that he had been lonely and worried.

I smiled at him with a tad bit of sorrow "Sorry to leave you alone for so long. How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"A week, which is much less than any of us thought you would be" Neko replied.

I looked worried "How's Shyra? Gaara didn't harm her did he?" I asked sarcastically.

The others chuckled and Naruto replied "Don't worry Gaara took really good care of her."

I smiled "thank you."

The rest of the day was pretty boring we all just sat around and talked for the most part. Tsunade had come in during the afternoon to tell us that I would be allowed to leave in three days. Gaara and the other two siblings had to leave early to check on remodeling but nothing else happened. As night fell the others all headed back to where they were staying during our time here and I fell asleep.

Three days later

The last few days in this hospital were exactly like the first except that Itachi, Kisame, Sasori and Deidara had arrived the day after I had woken. I was so happy that the time had gone by a bit fast once they had arrived and I can finally get out of here.

Gaara and I were leaving the hospital me on crutches and him glancing at me every few minutes as if to make sure I was still upright. It was just the two of us because the others were all helping with the rebuilding or at least that's what Gaara had said.

As we past the construction site I thought 'Man I wish I could help too.' Unfortunately Gaara had noticed and gently tapped me on the head.

"Don't think about it. It's not your fault and this isn't your village, yet. That means you don't need to worry about it."

I sighed and said "sorry." But right after saying this I realized that Gaara had said 'yet.' This left me wondering all the rest of the way 'What's going to happen now?'

Soon Gaara and I made it back to his place. 'All the lights are off' I thought as I slowly hobbled up the steps. Gaara was coming up behind me carrying my crutches and making sure I wasn't going to fall.

When we got to the top of the stairs Gaara handed me my crutches and opened the door. There was a loud "SURPRISE" as the lights were turned on and the others jumped out. I began to laugh as Neko came over and gave me a hug.

She then said "Hey, glad to see you up and about."

"So am I. I was so sick of being stuck in that hospital." I replied

"Well, glad to know you like having me around so much" I heard Tsunade say from behind us. I turned around just as she walked in the door.

"Of course I liked being around you so much but I hated being trapped in bed for so long. You know how much I hate not being able to do anything." I told her.

"I know I was joking with you. I'm just glad to see you feeling better and getting about alright" she said.

I smiled and shouted "YOU GUYS GOT THIS PARTY READY SO LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!" everyone laughed and the party began.

After a few hours of music, dancing, and snacks Temari got up and stood on one of the tables. "This is a get well party and a welcome home one. I know that everyone here got in groups and put skits, presents, and other ideas together to make this great so let's begin." She called.

The first group was Neko, Kakashi, Saku, Naruto and Sasuke. They performed a song Neko had written for me after I lost Kyuu. While Neko sang the others either added back up for the song or danced behind her. The song talked about never being alone and how problems were not always my fault; since back them I had felt that his death was because of me. This performance was the opening and it made me feel as if it should have been the end so that just meant better was on the way.

The second group was made up of Itachi, Sasori, Kisame, and Deidara. They did a fun skit about a mime that started talking on a really weird day and how everything in the world became vegetables. The best part was that they really made a miniature city out of pickles, zucchini, and other funny looking things. This made me laugh and I had lots of fun watching and listening to the story.

It seemed that Gaara had decided to do his alone since the third group was just Temari and Kankuro who had made a gift for me. They must have gotten help from Neko because there present was a full size puppet of Kyuu. It had been in a large red box when they handed it to me and I cried once I had opened it. I had decided that I would just hang it in my room when we got home.

The last person to go was Gaara but he didn't go up to the front were everyone else had started when it was their turns. Instead he came and stood in front of my before getting down on one knee. Thankfully I was sitting because if I hadn't I would have fallen to the floor. Gaara pulled a small black box from his pocket and opened it slowly.

Inside the box was a small simple engagement ring that had 5 small gems. Each was a different color and type the one in the middle was a red ruby with a pink sapphire on its right and a yellow amethyst next to the sapphire. On the other side there was a green jade and a blue emerald.

What brought me out of shock was the sound of Gaara's voice. He was asking me if it was okay to ask me a specific question. I nodded know what it would be and smiled at him. He then ask "Tsubaki, the most beautiful person I have ever known, will you marry me?"


	21. Chapter 21Epilogue

Epilogue

Tsubaki's P.O.V.

It's been seven years since the Kazekage tower burned down. Seven years since I almost lost my life in the fire. Seven years since Gaara proposed. That was the best day of my life and of course I said yes and we married five months later; this was to allow my foot to heal and for me to regain the ability to walk.

Neji was the one to walk me down the aisle; as well as, give Gaara and me his blessing. Neko and Temari had been the bride's maids and Hinata was the flower girl. Gaara had Kankuro and Naruto standing next to him that day and Tsunade was the one to wed us.

Two children ran past me screaming and laughing breaking me out of my thoughts. They were then followed by a red and black blur that was Gaara. I joined the chase of the six and four year olds and laughed as I caught up to them all. I tackled Gaara to the ground and asked "What are you three doing?"

He replied with "playing tag." I laughed and thought 'like normal'

I had been very surprised when I found how much of a father Gaara really could be. He hadn't struck me as the father type till I got pregnant a year after our wedding and had our six year old girl, Ai. He had been so excited when we found out and since she was born had both spoiled and disciplined her. Then when we had out four year old boy, Kyuu, he did the same and more for both. I was just thankful that the kids didn't dislike each other and that we were doing well.

Ai looked a lot like me but her hair had a slight red tint to it. She was a bit small for her age but was already ahead of her class since Gaara and I had started training her when she was finally allowed to go. She had lots of friends but would rather spend her days practicing and playing with us and her brother.

Kyuu looks exactly like Gaara and my late brother, who we named him after. He is a lot like Ai and really wants us to start his training but he still has to wait a few years before he can go to school. He might act like his sister but he is a total momma's boy; whenever I'm home he just sits on my lap and does nothing else.

Naruto and Saku got married two years ago and would have done so sooner but had some problems with some laws that Gaara and Tsunade had gotten changed. They were happy and had adopted two little boys who were twins that had lost their parents in a fire like I had mine. The boys had not let that get to them though and are living happily with their new parents not minding that they're both male.

Neko and Itachi had gotten married two years after Gaara and I had. They have not had any kids yet but Neko had finally talked Itachi into having one and was expected to have her first in three months. Itachi is freaking out at this point mostly about how Neko is feeling and if he's going to be a good father or not. The last time they visited he had asked Gaara a few questions about what it was like and if he knew a way for him to get used to the child a bit fast. I found it funniest when Gaara told Itachi that he would love it and it would be easier once it got here; Itachi just looked even more scared compared to before he asked.

Gaara and I live in Suna while most everyone else live in Konoha. This includes Shikamaru and Temari who had just gotten married two weeks ago and all our other friends. Neji was trying to figure out a way to ask Tenten even after six years of dating and Kiba and Hinata were to be wed in a month. I was happy for them all and was already planning a way to get Neji to finally ask while I was there for the wedding; that was going to be fun.

I called the kids and we all headed out to take a walk. Life was going great and it would just get better. Everyone was happy and our already large 'family' was just going to continue to grow.

The End.


End file.
